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I 







HIS SNOUT ROSE ABOVE THE WATER 





CORAL ISLAND 


WORLD ADVENTURE ROOKS 

For Boys and Girls 
Edited by BROOKES MORE 



Coral Island 

A Tale of the Pacific Ocean 




R. M. BALLANTYNE 

Author of “Gascoyne," “ Dog Crusoe," etc. 


Edited by BROOKES MORE 



1923 

THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
BOSTON 





Copyright, 1923 

By THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY 


! ransferred from 
Copyr... v 

,rn •** 


Printed in the United States of America 


THE JORDAN & MORE PRESS 
BOSTON 

OCT -3 1923 


EDITOR’S PREFACE 


“/^lORAL ISLAND” has for nearly half a century 
been considered a classic novel ; and when it is 
conceded that the times have so rapidly changed since 
the date this book was written, we must come to the 
conclusion that it is a book of permanent interest; as it 
so ably portrays the stirring scenes that will never 
return upon the earth. 

When this book was written it was habitual, and we 
might say the style of authors to introduce a good deal 
of moralizing. It was really a bad practice because the 
interest of the tale was thereby weakened. As editor of 
this book, therefore, I have left the author’s words un¬ 
changed, and have simply confined myself toward cutting 
out a few dreary pages of moralizing. Not a single 
incident has been omitted, corrected or changed, and 
the language is just as the author wrote it. 

Brookes More 






% 







CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Beginning — My Early Life and 
Character — I Thirst for Adventure 
in Foreign Lands, and Go to Sea . 3 

II We Conclude that the Island is Unin¬ 
habited— Curious Discoveries . . 11 

III The Wonders of the Deep — We Get a 

Dreadful Fright — Signs of Former 
Inhabitants.30 

IV Jack’s Ingenuity — Horrible Encounter 

with a Shark — More Difficulties 
Overcome — Arms Prepared for Of¬ 
fence and Defence.48 

V Mysterious Appearances and Startling 
Occurrences — Resources Unfolded 
— A Very Peculiar Murder ... 74 

VI Mysterious Footsteps — Strange Dis¬ 
coveries and Sad Sights — Jack Com¬ 
mences to Build a Little Boat . . 91 


VII 


Spouting Cliffs — The Diamond Cave . 


109 



Vlll 


Contents 


CHAPTER PAGE 

VIII Boat- building Extraordinary — We 
Visit the Coral Reef — The Way in 
which Coral Islands are Made — A 
Monstrous Whale.124 

IX Peterkin’s Terrible Accident — We Visit 

Penguin Island.143 

X Narrow Escape — Deliverance from 

Danger. 158 

XI An Appalling Battle — Jack Proves 
Himself to be a Hero — With Sav¬ 
ages — Cannibalism.165 

XII A Sail — A Terrible Dive — A Fright¬ 
ful Catastrophe — Pirates — A 
Melancholy Separation .... 184 

XIII Bloody Bill — Dark Surmises — A 

Murderous Massacre.204 

XIV Bloody Bill is Sagacious — The Pirates 

and a Feejee Chief.216 

XV The Sandal-wood Party — Desperate 
Amusements — Mischief Brewing — 

The Attack — Wholesale Murder — 
Escape.232 

XVI The Wounded Man — The Squall — 

Death.255 

XVII Alone on the Deep — A Bright Day — 

An Awful Dive — The Last of the 
Coral Island.264 







Contents 

ix 

CHAPTER 


PAGE 

XVIII 

The Voyage — Awful Revelations . 

281 

XIX 

A Strange and Bloody Battle — Scenes 
of Cruelty — An Unexpected Dis¬ 



covery — Plans of Escape . 

298 

XX 

The Flight — Awful Danger Threat¬ 



ened — A Terrific Storm 

314 

XXI 

Imprisonment — Unexpected Freedom . 

326 

























/ 


\ 



CORAL ISLAND 







/ 


/ 








CORAL ISLAND 

CHAPTER I 

TT was a wild, black night of howling storm, the night 
on which I was born on the foaming bosom of the broad 
Atlantic Ocean. My father was a sea-captain; my grand¬ 
father was a sea-captain; my great-grandfather had been 
a marine. We knew that, as far back as our family could 
be traced, it had been intimately connected with the 
great watery waste. 

Thus it was, I suppose, that I came to inherit a roving 
disposition. 

For some years I was happy in visiting the seaports, 
and in coasting along the shores of my native land. My 
Christian name was Ralph, and my comrades added to 
this the name of Rover, in consequence of the passion 
which I always evinced for travelling. My shipmates 
were kind, good-natured fellows, and they and I got on 
very well together. They did, indeed, very frequently 
make game of and banter me, but not unkindly; and I 
overheard them sometimes saying that Ralph Rover was 
a “ queer, old-fashioned fellow.” This, I must confess, 
surprised me much, and I pondered the saying long, but 


4 


Coral Island 


could come at no satisfactory conclusion as to that wherein 
my old-fashionedness lay. It is true I was a quiet lad, 
and seldom spoke except when spoken to. Moreover, I 
never could understand the jokes of my companions, 
even when they were explained to me. However, I tried 
to make up for it by smiling and looking pleased when I 
observed that they were laughing at some witticism which 
I had failed to detect. 

Now, while engaged in the coasting trade, I fell in 
with many seamen who had travelled to almost every 
quarter of the globe; and I freely confess that my heart 
glowed ardently within me as they recounted their wild 
adventures in foreign lands — the dreadful storms they 
had weathered, the appalling dangers they had escaped, 
the wonderful creatures they had seen both on the land 
and in the sea, and the interesting lands and strange 
people they had visited. But of all the places of which 
they told me, none captivated and charmed my imagina¬ 
tion so much as the Coral Islands of the Southern Seas. 
They told me of thousands of beautiful, fertile islands 
that had been formed by a small creature called the coral 
insect, where summer reigned nearly all the year round; 
where the trees were laden with a constant harvest of 
luxuriant fruit; where the climate was almost perpetually 
delightful; yet where, strange to say, men were wild, 
bloodthirsty savages. These exciting accounts had so 
great an effect upon my mind that, when I reached the 
age of fifteen, I resolved to make a voyage to the South 
Seas. 

I had no little difficulty at first in prevailing on my 


Coral Island 


5 


dear parents to let me go; but when I urged on my father 
that he would never have become a great captain had 
he remained in the coasting trade, he saw the truth of 
what I said, and gave his consent. My dear mother, 
seeing that my father had made up his mind, no longer 
offered opposition to my wishes. “ But oh, Ralph,” she 
said, on the day I bade her adieu, “ come back soon to us, 
my dear boy, for we are getting old now, Ralph, and may 
not have many years to live.” 

I will not take up my readers’ time with a minute 
account of all that occurred before I took my final leave 
of my dear parents. Suffice it to say that my father 
placed me under the charge of an old messmate of his 
own, a merchant captain, who was on the point of sailing 
to the South Seas in his own ship, the Arrow; and my 
mother gave me her blessing. 

Soon afterwards, I went on board the Arrow y which 
was a fine large ship, and set sail for the islands of the 
Pacific Ocean. 

It was a bright, beautiful, warm day when our ship 
spread her canvas to the breeze, and sailed for the re¬ 
gions of the south. Oh, how my heart bounded with 
delight as I listened to the merry chorus of the sailors, 
while they hauled at the ropes and got in the anchor! 
The captain shouted; the men ran to obey; the noble 
ship bent over to the breeze, and the shore gradually 
faded from my view, while I stood looking on with a kind 
of feeling that the whole was a delightful dream. 

The first thing that struck me as being different from 
anything I had yet seen during my short career on the 


6 


Coral Island 


sea, was the hoisting of the anchor on deck and lashing 
it firmly down with ropes, as if we had now bid adieu 
to the land for ever, and would require its services no 
more. 

“ There, lass,” cried a broad-shouldered jack-tar, giving 
the fluke of the anchor a hearty slap with his hand after 
the housing was completed — “ there, lass, take a good 
nap now, for we shan’t ask you to kiss the mud again for 
many a long day to come! ” 

And so it was. That anchor did not “ kiss the mud ” 
for many long days afterwards; and when at last it did, 
it was for the last time! 

There were a number of boys in the ship, but two of 
them were my special favourites. Jack Martin was a 
tall, strapping, broad-shouldered youth of eighteen, with 
a handsome, good-humoured, firm face. He had had a 
good education, was clever and hearty and lion-like in 
his actions, but mild and quiet in disposition. Jack was 
a general favourite, and had a peculiar fondness for me. 
My other companion was Peterkin Gay. He was little, 
quick, funny, decidedly mischievous, and about fourteen 
years old. But Peterkin’s mischief was almost always 
harmless, else he could not have been so much beloved 
as he was. 

“ Hallo, youngster! ” cried Jack Martin, giving me a 
slap on the shoulder the day I joined the ship, “ come 
below, and I’ll show you your berth. You and I are to 
be messmates, and I think we shall be good friends, for 
I like the look o’ you.” 

Jack was right. He and I, and Peterkin afterwards. 


Coral Island 


7 


became the best and staunchest friends that ever tossed 
together on the stormy waves. 

I shall say little about the first part of our voyage. 
We had the usual amount of rough weather and calm; 
also we saw many strange fish rolling in the sea, and I 
was greatly delighted one day by seeing a shoal of flying- 
fish dart out of the water and skim through the air about 
a foot above the surface. They were pursued by dolphins, 
which feed on them, and one flying-fish in its terror flew 
over the ship, struck on the rigging, and fell upon the 
deck. Its wings were just fins elongated, and we found 
that they could never fly far at a time, and never mounted 
into the air like birds, but skimmed along the surface 
of the sea. Jack and I had it for dinner, and found it 
remarkably good. 

When we approached Cape Horn, at the southern 
extremity of America, the weather became very cold and 
stormy, and the sailors began to tell stories about the 
furious gales and the dangers of that terrible Cape. 

“ Cape Horn,” said one, “ is the most horrible head¬ 
land I ever doubled. I’ve sailed round it twice already, 
and both times the ship was a’most blow’d out o’ the 
water.” 

“ I’ve been round it once,” said another, “ an’ that time 
the sails were split, and the ropes frozen in the blocks, so 
that they wouldn’t work, and we wos all but lost.” 

“ An’ I’ve been round it five times,” cried a third, 
“ an’ every time wos wuss than another, the gales wos so 
tree-mendous! ” 

“ And I’ve been round it no times at all,” cried Peterkin, 


8 Coral Island 

with an impudent wink in his eye, “ an’ that time I wos 
blow’d inside out! ” 

Nevertheless, we passed the dreaded Cape without much 
rough weather, and, in the course of a few weeks, were 
sailing gently before a warm, tropical breeze over the 
Pacific Ocean. Thus we proceeded on our voyage, some¬ 
times bounding merrily before a fair breeze, at other 
times floating calmly on the glassy wave and fishing for 
the curious inhabitants of the deep. 

At last we came among the Coral Islands of the Pacific, 
and I shall never forget the delight with which I gazed — 
at the pure, white, dazzling shores, and the verdant palm 
trees, which looked bright and beautiful in the sunshine. 
And often did we three long to be landed on one, imagining 
that we should certainly find perfect happiness there! 
Our wish was granted sooner than we expected. 

One night, soon after we entered the tropics, an awful 
storm burst upon our ship. The first squall of wind 
carried away two of our masts, and left only the foremast 
standing. Even this, however, was more than enough, 
for we did not dare to hoist a rag of sail on it. For five 
days the tempest raged in all its fury. Everything was 
swept off the decks except one small boat. The steers¬ 
man was lashed to the wheel, lest he should be washed 
away, and we all gave ourselves up for lost. The captain 
said that he had no idea where we were, as we had been 
blown far out of our course; and he feared much that we 
might get among the dangerous coral reefs which are so 
numerous in the Pacific. At daybreak on the sixth 
morning of the gale we saw land ahead. It was an island 


Coral Island 


9 


encircled by a reef of coral on which the waves broke in 
fury. There was calm water within this reef, but we could 
see only one narrow opening into it. For this opening we 
steered, but ere we reached it a tremendous wave broke 
on our stern, tore the rudder completely off, and left us at 
the mercy of the winds and waves. 

“ It’s all over with us now, lads! ” said the captain to 
the men. “ Get the boat ready to launch; we shall be 
on the rocks in less than half-an-hour.” 

The men obeyed in gloomy silence, for they felt that 
there was little hope of so small a boat living in such a 
sea. 

“ Come, boys,” said Jack Martin, in a grave tone, to 
me and Peterkin, as we stood on the quarter-deck await¬ 
ing our fate — “ come, boys; we three shall stick together. 
You see it is impossible that the little boat can reach the 
shore, crowded with men. It will be sure to upset, so I 
mean rather to trust myself to a large oar. I see through 
the telescope that the ship will strike at the tail of the 
reef, where the waves break into the quiet water inside; 
so, if we manage to cling to the oar till it is driven over 
the breakers, we may perhaps gain the shore. What say 
you? will you join me? ” 

We gladly agreed to follow Jack, for he inspired us 
with confidence, although I could perceive, by the sad 
tone of his voice, that he had little hope; and, indeed, 
when I looked at the white waves that lashed the reef 
and boiled against the rocks as if in fury, I felt that there 
was but a step between us and death. 

The ship was now very near the rocks. The men were 


10 


Coral Island 


ready with the boat, and the captain beside them giving 
orders, when a tremendous wave came towards us. We 
three ran towards the bow to lay hold of our oar, and had 
barely reached it when the wave fell on the deck with a 
crash like thunder. At the same moment the ship struck, 
the foremast broke off close to the deck and went over 
the side, carrying the boat and men along with it. Our 
oar got entangled with the wreck, and Jack seized an axe 
to cut it free, but, owing to the motion of the ship, he 
missed the cordage and struck the axe deep into the oar. 
Another wave, however, washed it clear of the wreck. 
We all seized hold of it, and the next instant we were 
struggling in the wild sea. The last thing I saw was the 
boat whirling in the surf, and all the sailors tossed into 
the foaming waves. Then I became insensible. 

On recovering from my swoon, I found myself lying on 
a bank of soft grass, under shelter of an overhanging 
rock, with Peterkin on his knees by my side, tenderly 
bathing my temples with water, and endeavouring to stop 
the blood that flowed from a wound in my forehead. 


CHAPTER II 


We conclude that the island is uninhabited — We examine 
into our 'personal property — Our island described — 
Curious discoveries. 

nHHERE is a strange and peculiar sensation experienced 
in recovering from a state of insensibility, which is 
almost indescribable: a sort of dreamy, confused con¬ 
sciousness; a half-waking, half-sleeping condition, accom¬ 
panied with a feeling of weariness, which, however, is by 
no means disagreeable. As I slowly recovered, and 
heard the voice of Peterkin inquiring whether I felt 
better, I thought that I must have overslept myself, and 
should be sent to the mast-head for being lazy; but before 
I could leap up in haste, the thought seemed to vanish 
suddenly away, and I fancied that I must have been ill. 
Then a balmy breeze fanned my cheek, and I thought of 
home, and the garden at the back of my father’s cottage, 
with its luxuriant flowers, and the sweet-scented honey¬ 
suckle that my dear mother trained so carefully upon the 
trellised porch. But the roaring of the surf put these 
delightful thoughts to flight, and I was back again at sea, 
watching the dolphins and the flying-fish, and reefing 
topsails off the wild and stormy Cape Horn. Gradually 
the roar of the surf became louder and more distinct. I 
thought of being wrecked far, far away from my native 
land, and slowly opened my eyes to meet those of my 


12 Coral Island 

companion Jack, who, with a look of intense anxiety, was 
gazing into my face. 

“ Speak to us, my dear Ralph,” whispered Jack ten¬ 
derly. “ Are you better now? ” 

I smiled, and looked up, saying, “ Better! why, what 
do you mean, Jack? I’m quite well.” 

“ Then what are you shamming for, and frightening us 
in this way? ” said Peter kin, smiling through his tears; 
for the poor boy had been really under the impression 
that I was dying. 

I now raised myself on my elbow, and putting my hand 
to my forehead, found that it had been cut pretty severely, 
and that I had lost a good deal of blood. 

“ Come, come, Ralph,” said Jack, pressing me gently 
backward, “ lie down, my boy; you’re not right yet. 
Wet your lips with this water; it’s cool and clear as 
crystal. I got it from a spring close at hand. There 
now, don’t say a word, hold your tongue,” he said, seeing 
me about to speak. “ I’ll tell you all about it, but you 
must not utter a syllable till you have rested well.” 

“ Oh! don’t stop him from speaking, Jack,” said Peter- 
kin, who, now that his fears for my safety were removed, 
busied himself in erecting a shelter of broken branches in 
order to protect me from the wind, which, however, was 
almost unnecessary, for the rock beside which I had been 
laid completely broke the force of the gale. “ Let him 
speak, Jack; it’s a comfort to hear that he’s alive, after 
lying there stiff and white and sulky for a whole hour, 
just like an Egyptian mummy. Never saw such a fellow 
as you are, Ralph, always up to mischief. You’ve almost 


Coral Island 


13 


knocked out all my teeth, and more than half choked me, 
and now you go shamming dead! It’s wicked of you, 
indeed it is.” 

While Peterkin ran on in this style, my faculties be¬ 
came clear again, and I began to understand my position. 
“ What do you mean by saying I half choked you, Peter- 
kin? ” said I. 

“ What do I mean? Is English not your mother- 
tongue, or do you want me to repeat it in French, by way 

of making it clearer? Don’t you remember-” 

“ I remember nothing,” said I, interrupting him, “ after 
we were thrown into the sea.” 

“ Hush, Peterkin! ” said Jack; “ you’re exciting Ralph 
with your nonsense. — I’ll explain it to you. You re¬ 
collect that after the ship struck, we three sprang over 
the bow into the sea: well, I noticed that the oar struck 
your head and gave you that cut on the brow, which 
nearly stunned you, so that you grasped Peterkin round 
the neck without knowing what you were about. In 
doing so you pushed the telescope — which you clung to 

as if it had been your life — against Peterkin’s mouth-” 

“ Pushed it against his mouth! ” interrupted Peterkin; 
“ say, crammed it down his throat. Why, there’s a mark 
of the brass rim on the back of my gullet at this moment! ” 
“ Well, well, be that as it may,” continued Jack, “ you 
clung to him, Ralph, till I feared you would choke him; 
but I saw that he had a good hold of the oar, so I exerted 
myself to push you towards the shore, which we luckily 
reached without much trouble, for the water inside the 
reef is quite calm.” 


14 


Coral Island 


“ But the captain and crew, what of them? ” I inquired 
anxiously. 

Jack shook his head. 

“ Are they lost? ” 

“ No, they are not lost, I hope, but I fear there is not 
much chance of their being saved. The ship struck at 
the very tail of the island on which we are cast. When 
the boat was tossed into the sea it fortunately did not 
upset, although it shipped a good deal of water, and all 
the men managed to scramble into it; but before they 
could get the oars out the gale carried them past the point 
and away to leeward of the island. After we landed I 
saw them trying to pull towards us; but as they had only 
one pair of oars out of the eight that belong to the boat, 
and as the wind was blowing right in their teeth, they lost 
ground. Then I saw them put about and hoist some sort 
of sail — a blanket* I fancy, for it was too small for the 
boat — and in half-an-hour they were out of sight.” 

Poor fellows! ” I murmured sorrowfully. 

“ But the more I think about it, I’ve better hope of 
them,” continued Jack, in a more cheerful tone. “ You 
see, Ralph, I’ve read a great deal about these South Sea 
Islands, and I know that in many places they are scattered 
about in thousands over the sea, so they’re almost sure to 
fall in with one of them before long.” 

“ I’m sure I hope so,” said Peterkin earnestly. “ But 
what has become of the wreck, Jack? I saw you clamber¬ 
ing up the rocks there while I was watching Ralph. Did 
you say she had gone to pieces? ” 

“ No, she has not gone to pieces, but she has gone to 


Coral Island 


15 


the bottom,” replied Jack. “ As I said before, she struck 
on the tail of the island and stove in her bow, but the 
next breaker swung her clear, and she floated away to 
leeward. The* poor fellows in the boat made a hard 
struggle to reach her, but long before they came near her 
she filled and went down. It was after she foundered that 
I saw them trying to pull to the island.” 

There was a long silence after Jack ceased speaking, 
and I have no doubt that each was revolving in his mind 
our extraordinary position. For my part, I cannot say 
that my reflections were very agreeable. I knew that we 
were on an island, for Jack had said so, but whether it 
was inhabited or not I did not know. If it should be 
inhabited, I felt certain, from all I had heard of South 
Sea Islanders, that we should be roasted alive and eaten. 
If it should turn out to be uninhabited, I fancied that we 
should be starved to death. “ Oh,” thought I, “ if the 
ship had only struck on the rocks we might have done 
pretty well, for we could have obtained provisions from 
her, and tools to enable us to build a shelter; but now — 
we are lost! ” These last words I uttered aloud in my 
distress. 

“ Lost! Ralph? ” exclaimed Jack, while a smile over¬ 
spread his hearty countenance. “ Saved, you should have 
said. Your cogitations seem to have taken a wrong road, 
and led you to a wrong conclusion.” 

“ Do you know what conclusion I have come to? ” said 
Peterkin. “ I have made up my mind that it’s capital — 
first-rate — the best thing that ever happened to us, and 
the most splendid prospect that ever lay before three jolly 


16 


Coral Island 


young tars. We’ve got an island all to ourselves. We’ll 
take possession in the name of the king; we’ll go and 
enter the service of its black inhabitants. Of course we’ll 
rise, naturally, to the top of affairs. White men always 
do in savage countries. You shall be king, Jack; Ralph, 
prime minister; and I shall be-” 

“ The court-jester,” interrupted Jack. 

“ No,” retorted Peterkin; “ I’ll have no title at all. I 
shall merely accept a highly responsible situation under 
government; for you see, Jack, I’m fond of having an 
enormous salary and nothing to do.” 

“ But suppose there are no natives? ” 

“ Then we’ll build a charming villa, and plant a lovely 
garden round it, stuck all full of the most splendiferous 
tropical flowers, and we’ll farm the land, plant, sow, reap, 
eat, sleep, and be merry.” 

“ But,” said Jack, assuming a grave expression of 
countenance, which I observed always had the effect of 
checking Peterkin’s disposition to make fun of everything, 
“ we are really in rather an uncomfortable position. If 
this is a desert island, we shall have to live very much like 
the wild beasts, for we have not a tool of any kind, not 
even a knife.” 

“ Yes, we have that” said Peterkin, fumbling in his 
trousers pocket, from which he drew forth a small pen¬ 
knife with only one blade, and that was broken. 

“ Well, that’s better than nothing. But come,” said 
Jack, rising; “ we are wasting our time in talking instead 
of doing. — You seem well enough to walk now, Ralph. 
Let us see what we have got in our pockets, and then let 


Coral Island 


17 


us climb some hill and ascertain what sort of island we 
have been cast upon, for, whether good or bad, it seems 
likely to be our home for some time to come.” 

We now seated ourselves upon a rock, and began to ex¬ 
amine into our personal property. When we reached 
the shore, after being wrecked, my companions had taken 
off part of their clothes and spread them out in the sun 
to dry; for although the gale was raging fiercely, there 
was not a single cloud in the bright sky. They had also 
stripped off most of my wet clothes and spread them also 
on the rocks. Having resumed our garments, we now 
searched all our pockets with care, and laid their contents 
out on a flat stone before us; and now that our minds 
were fully alive to our condition, we turned our several 
pockets inside out, in order that nothing might escape us. 
When all was collected together, we found that our worldly 
goods consisted of the following articles: — 

First, a small penknife with a single blade broken off 
about the middle and very rusty, besides having two or 
three notches on its edge. (Peterkin said of this, with 
his usual pleasantry, that it would do for a saw as well 
as a knife, which was a great advantage.) Second, an 
old German-silver pencil-case without any lead in it. 
Third, a piece of whipcord about six yards long. Fourth, 
a sailmaker’s needle of a small size. Fifth, a ship’s tele¬ 
scope, which I happened to have in my hand at the time 
the ship struck, and which I had clung to firmly all the 
time I was in the water. I cannot understand why I 
kept such a firm hold of this telescope. They say that a 
drowning man will clutch at a straw. Perhaps it may 


18 


Coral Island 


have been some such feeling in me, for I did not know that 
it was in my hand at the time we were wrecked. How¬ 
ever, we felt some pleasure in having it with us now, 
although we did not see that it could be of much use to 
us, as the glass at the small end was broken to pieces. 
Our sixth article was a brass ring which Jack always wore 
on his little finger. I never understood why he wore it, 
for Jack was not vain of his appearance, and did not seem 
to care for ornaments of any kind. Peterkin said “ it was 
in memory of the girl he left behind him! ” In addition 
to these articles we had a little bit of tinder, and the 
clothes on our back. These last were as follows: — 

Each of us had on a pair of stout canvas trousers, and 
a pair of sailors’ thick shoes. Jack wore a red flannel 
shirt, a blue jacket, and a red bonnet or nightcap, besides 
a pair of worsted socks, and a cotton pocket-handkerchief, 
with sixteen portraits of Lord Nelson printed on it, and a 
Union Jack in the middle. Peterkin had on a striped 
flannel shirt — which he wore outside his trousers, and 
belted round his waist, after the manner of a tunic — and 
a round black straw hat. He had no jacket, having 
thrown it off just before we were cast into the sea; but 
this was not of much consequence, as the climate of the 
island proved to be extremely mild — so much so, indeed, 
that Jack and I often preferred to go about without our 
jackets. Peterkin had also a pair of white cotton socks, 
and a blue handkerchief with white spots all over it. My 
own costume consisted of a blue flannel shirt, a blue jacket, 
a black cap, and a pair of worsted socks, besides the shoes 
and canvas trousers already mentioned. This was all we 


Coral Island 


19 


had, but when we thought of the danger from which we 
had escaped, and how much worse off we might have been 
had the ship struck on the reef during the night, we felt 
very thankful that we were possessed of so much. 

While we were examining these things and talking 
about them. Jack suddenly started and exclaimed — 

“ The oar! We have forgotten the oar.” 

“ What good will that do us! ” said Peterkin; “ there’s 
wood enough on the island to make a thousand oars.” 

“ Ay, lad,” replied Jack; “ but there’s a bit of hoop- 
iron at the end of it, and that may be of much use to us.” 

“ Very true,” said I, “ let us go fetch it; ” and with 
that we all three rose and hastened down to the beach. 
I still felt a little weak from loss of blood, so that my 
companions soon began to leave me behind; but Jack 
with his usual considerate good-nature, turned back to 
help me. This was now the first time that I had looked 
well about me since landing, as the spot where I had been 
laid was covered with thick bushes, which almost hid the 
country from our view. As we now emerged from among 
these and walked down the sandy beach together, I cast 
my eyes about, and truly my heart glowed within me and 
my spirits rose at the beautiful prospect which I beheld 
on every side. The gale had suddenly died away, just as 
if it had blown furiously till it dashed our ship upon the 
rocks, and had nothing more to do after accomplishing 
that. The island on which we stood was hilly, and cov¬ 
ered almost everywhere with the most beautiful and richly 
coloured trees, bushes, and shrubs, none of which I knew 
the names of at that time, except, indeed, the cocoa-nut 


20 


Coral Island 


palms, which I recognised at once from the many pictures 
that I had seen of them before I left home. A sandy 
beach of dazzling whiteness lined this bright green shore, 
and upon it there fell a gentle ripple of the sea. This last 
astonished me much, for I recollected that at home the 
sea used to fall in huge billows on the shore long after 
a storm had subsided. But on casting my glance out to 
sea, the cause became apparent. About a mile distant 
from the shore, I saw the great billows of the ocean roll¬ 
ing like a green wall, and falling with a long, loud roar 
upon a low coral reef, where they were dashed into white 
foam and flung up in clouds of spray. This spray some¬ 
times flew exceedingly high, and every here and there a 
beautiful rainbow was formed for a moment among the 
falling drops. We afterwards found that this coral reef 
extended quite round the island, and formed a natural 
breakwater to it. Beyond this the sea rose and tossed 
violently from the effects of the storm; but between the 
reef and the shore it was as calm and as smooth as a pond. 

My heart was filled with more delight than I can 
express at sight of so many glorious objects. While we 
thus gazed, we were startled by a loud “ Huzza! ” from 
Peterkin, and on looking towards the edge of the sea, we 
saw him capering and jumping about like a monkey, and 
ever and anon tugging with all his might at something 
that lay upon the shoire. 

“ What an odd fellow he is, to be sure! ” said Jack, 
taking me by the arm and hurrying forward; “ come, let 
us see what it is.” 

“ Here it is, boys, hurrah! come along. Just what we 


Coral Island 


21 


want,” cried Peterkin, as we drew near, still tugging with 
all his power. “ First-rate; just the very ticket! ” 

On coming up, we found that Peterkin was trying to 
pull the axe out of the oar, into which, it will be remem¬ 
bered, Jack struck it while endeavouring to cut away the 
cordage among which it had become entangled at the 
bow of the ship. Fortunately for us, the axe had re¬ 
mained fast in the oar, and even now all Peterkin’s 
strength could not draw it out of the cut. 

“ Ah! that is capital indeed,” cried Jack, at the same 
time giving the axe a wrench that plucked it out of the 
tough wood. “ How fortunate this is! It will be of 
more value to us than a hundred knives, and the edge is 
quite new and sharp.” 

“ I’ll answer for the toughness of the handle, at any 
rate,” cried Peterkin; “ my arms are nearly pulled out of 
the sockets. But see here, our luck is great. There is 
iron on the blade.” He pointed to a piece of hoop-iron 
as he spoke, which had been nailed round the blade of the 
oar to prevent it from splitting. 

This also was a fortunate discovery. Jack went down 
on his knees, and with the edge of the axe began care¬ 
fully to force out the nails. But as they were firmly 
fixed in, and the operation blunted our axe, we carried 
the oar up with us to the place where we had left the rest 
of our things, intending to burn the wood away from the 
iron at a more convenient time. 

“ Now,” said Jack, after we had laid it on the stone 
which contained our little all, “ I propose that we should 
go to the tail of the island, where the ship struck, which 


22 


Coral Island 


is only a quarter of a mile off, and see if anything else has 
been thrown ashore. I don’t expect anything, but it is 
well to see. When we get back here, it will be time to 
have our supper and prepare our beds.” 

“ Agreed! ” cried Peterkin and I together, as, indeed, 
we would have agreed to any proposal that Jack made. 

Now, as we hastened along the white beach, which 
shone so brightly in the rays of the setting sun that our 
eyes were quite dazzled by its glare, it suddenly came into 
Peterkin’s head that we had nothing to eat except the 
wild berries which grew at our feet. 

“ What shall we do, Jack? ” said he, with a rueful 
look; “ perhaps they may be poisonous! ” 

“No fear,” replied Jack confidently; “ I have observed 
that a few of them are not unlike some of the berries that 
grow wild on our own native hills. Besides, I saw one or 
two strange birds eating them just a few minutes ago, and 
what won’t kill the birds won’t kill us. But look up there, 
Peterkin,” continued Jack, pointing to the branched 
head of a cocoa-nut palm. “ There are nuts for us in all 
stages.” 

“ So there are! ” cried Peterkin, who, being of a very 
unobservant nature, had been too much taken up with 
other things to notice anything so high above his head 
as the fruit of a palm tree. But whatever faults my 
young comrade had, he could not be blamed for want of 
activity or animal spirits. Indeed, the nuts had scarcely 
been pointed out to him when he bounded up the tall 
stem of the tree like a squirrel, and in a few minutes re¬ 
turned with three nuts, each as large as a man’s fist. 


Coral Island 23 

“ You had better keep them till we return,” said Jack. 
“ Let us finish our work before eating.” 

“ So be it, captain; go ahead,” cried Peterkin, thrust¬ 
ing the nuts into his trousers pocket. “ In fact, I don’t 
want to eat just now, but I would give a good deal for a 
drink. Oh that I could find a spring! but I don’t see 
the smallest sign of one hereabouts. I say. Jack, how 
does it happen that you seem to be up to everything? 
You have told us the names of half-a-dozen trees already, 
and yet you say that you were never in the South Seas 
before.” 

“ I’m not up to everything , Peterkin, as you’ll find out 
ere long,” replied Jack, with a smile; “ but I have been 
a great reader of books of travel and adventure all my 
life, and that has put me up to a good many things that 
you are, perhaps, not acquainted with.” 

“ O Jaok, that’s all humbug. If you begin to lay 
everything to the credit of books, I’ll quite lose my 
opinion of you,” cried Peterkin, with a look of contempt. 
“ I’ve seen a lot o’ fellows that were always poring over 
books, and when they came to try to do anything, they 
were no better than baboons! ” 

“ Right,” retorted Jack, “ and I have seen a lot of 
fellows who never looked into books at all, who knew 
nothing about anything except the things they had seen, 
and little they knew even about these. Indeed, some were 
so ignorant that they did not know that cocoa-nuts grew 
on cocoa-nut trees! ” 

“ Humph! maybe you’re right,” answered Peterkin; 


24 


Coral Island 


“ but I would not give tuppence for a man of books, if he 
had nothing else in him.” 

“ Neither would I,” said Jack; 44 but that’s no reason 
why you should run books down, or think less of me for 
having read them. Suppose now, Peterkin, that you 
wanted to build a ship, and I were to give you a long 
and particular account of the way to do it, would not 
that be very useful? ” 

44 No doubt of it,” said Peterkin, laughing. 

4 4 And suppose I were to write the account in a letter 
instead of telling you in words, would that be less useful? ” 

44 Well — no, perhaps not.” 

44 Well, suppose I were to print it, and send it to you 
in the form of a book, would it not be as good and useful 
as ever? ” 

44 Oh, bother! Jack, you’re a philosopher, and that’s 
worse than anything! ” cried Peterkin, with a look of 
pretended horror. 

44 Very well, Peterkin, we shall see,” returned Jack, 
halting under the shade of a cocoa-nut tree. 44 You said 
you were thirsty just a minute ago; now jump up that 
tree and bring down a nut — not a ripe one, bring a green, 
unripe one.” 

Peterkin looked surprised, but seeing that Jack was in 
earnest, he obeyed. 

44 Now cut a hole in it with your penknife, and clap it 
to your mouth, old fellow,” said Jack. 

Peterkin did as he was directed, and we both burst into 
uncontrollable laughter at the changes that instantly 
passed over his expressive countenance. No sooner had 


Coral Island 


25 


he put the nut to his mouth, and thrown back his head 
in order to catch what came out of it, than his eyes 
opened to twice their ordinary size with astonishment, 
while his throat moved vigorously in the act of swallow¬ 
ing. Then a smile and look of intense delight overspread 
his face, except, indeed, the mouth, which, being firmly 
fixed to the hole in the nut, could not take part in the 
expression; but he endeavoured to make up for this by 
winking at us excessively with his right eye. At length 
he stopped, and, drawing a long breath, exclaimed — 

44 Nectar! perfect nectar! I say, Jack, you’re a Briton 
— the best fellow I ever met in my life. — Only taste 
that! ” said he, turning to me and holding the nut to my 
mouth. I immediately drank, and certainly I was sur¬ 
prised at the delightful liquid that flowed down my 
throat. It was cool, and had a sweet taste, mingled with 
acid; in fact it was the likest thing to lemonade I ever 
tasted, and was most refreshing. I handed the nut to 
Jack, who, after tasting it, said, 44 Now, Peterkin, you 
unbeliever, I never saw or tasted a cocoa-nut in my life 
before, except those sold in shops at home; but I once 
read that the green nuts contain that stuff, and you see 
it is true! ” 

44 What sort of 4 stuff ’ does the ripe nut contain? ” 
asked Peterkin. 

44 A hollow kernel,” answered Jack, 44 with a liquid 
like milk in it; but it does not satisfy thirst so well as 
hunger. It is very wholesome food, I believe.” 

44 Meat and drink on the same tree! ” cried Peterkin; 
44 washing in the sea, lodging on the ground — and all for 


26 


Coral Island 


nothing. My dear boys, we’re set up for life; it must 
be the ancient Paradise — hurrah! ” and Peter kin tossed 
his straw hat in the air, and ran along the beach halloo¬ 
ing like a madman with delight. 

We afterwards found, however, that these lovely islands 
were very unlike Paradise in many things. But more of 
this in its proper place. 

We had now come to the point of rocks on which the 
ship had struck, but did not find a single article, although 
we searched carefully among the coral rocks, which at 
this place jutted out so far as nearly to join the reef that 
encircled the island. Just as we were about to return, 
however, we saw something black floating in a little cove 
that had escaped our observation. Running forward, we 
drew it from the water, and found it to be a long, thick, 
leather boot, such as fishermen at home wear; and a few 
paces farther on we picked up its fellow. We at once 
recognised these as having belonged to our captain, for 
he had worn them during the whole of the storm, in order 
to guard his legs from the waves and spray that constantly 
washed over our decks. My first thought on seeing them 
was that our dear captain had been drowned; but Jack 
soon put my mind more at rest by saying if the captain 
had been drowned with the boots on, he would certainly 
have been washed ashore along with them, and that he 
had no doubt whatever he had kicked them off while in 
the sea, that he might swim more easily. 

Peterkin immediately put them on, but they were so 
large that, as Jack said, they would have done for boots, 
trousers, and vest too. I also tried them, but although 


Coral Island 


27 


I was long enough in the legs for them, they were much 
too large in the feet for me: so we handed them to Jack, 
who was anxious to make me keep them; but as they 
fitted his large limbs and feet as if they had been made 
for him, I would not hear of it, so he consented at last 
to use them. I may remark, however, that Jack did not 
use them often, as they were extremely heavy. 

It was beginning to grow dark when we returned to 
our encampment; so we put off our visit to the top of 
a hill till next day, and employed the light that yet 
remained to us in cutting down a quantity of boughs 
and the broad leaves of a tree of which none of us knew 
the name. With these we erected a sort of rustic bower, 
in which we meant to pass the night. There was no 
absolute necessity for this, because the air of our island 
was so genial and balmy that we could have slept quite 
well without any shelter; but we were so little used to 
sleeping in the open air that we did not quite relish 
the idea of lying down without any covering over us; 
besides, our bower would shelter us from the night-dews 
or rain, if any should happen to fall. Having strewed 
the floor with leaves and dry grass, we bethought our¬ 
selves of supper. 

But it now occurred to us, for the first time, that we 
had no means of making a fire. 

“ Now, there’s a fix! What shall we do? ” said 
Peterkin, while we both turned our eyes to Jack, to 
whom we always looked in our difficulties. Jack seemed 
not a little perplexed. 

“ There are flints enough, no doubt, on the beach,” 


28 


Coral Island 


said he, “ but they are of no use at all without a steel. 
However, we must try.” So saying, he went to the 
beach, and soon returned with two flints. On one of 
these he placed the tinder, and endeavoured to ignite 
it; but it was with great difficulty that a very small 
spark was struck out of the flints, and the tinder, being 
a bad, hard piece, would not catch. He then tried the 
bit of hoop-iron, which w r ould not strike fire at all; and 
after that the back of the axe, with no better success. 
During all these trials Peterkin sat with his hands in 
hife pockets, gazing with a most melancholy visage at 
our comrade, his face growing longer and more miserable 
at each successive failure. 

“ Oh dear! ” he sighed; “ I would not care a button 
for the cooking of our victuals — perhaps they don’t need 
it — but it’s so dismal to eat one’s supper in the dark; 
and we have had such a capital day that it’s a pity to 
finish off in this glum style. Oh, I have it! ” he cried, 
starting up; “ the spy-glass — the big glass at the end is 
a burning-glass! ” 

“ You forget that we have no sun,” said I. 

Peterkin was silent. In his sudden recollection of the 
telescope he had quite overlooked the absence of the sun. 

“ Ah, boys, I’ve got it now! ” exclaimed Jack, rising 
and cutting a branch from a neighbouring bush, which 
he stripped of its leaves. “ I recollect seeing this done 
once at home. Hand me the bit of whip-cord.” With 
the cord and branch Jack soon formed a bow. Then he 
cut a piece, about three inches long, off the end of a 
dead branch, which he pointed at the two ends. Round 


Coral Island 


29 


this he passed the cord of the bow, and placed one end 
against his chest, which was protected from its point by 
a chip of wood; the other point he placed against the 
bit of tinder, and then began to saw vigorously with the 
bow, just as a blacksmith does with his drill while boring 
a hole in a piece of iron. In a few seconds the tinker 
began to smoke; in less than a minute it caught fire; 
and in less than a quarter of an hour we were drinking 
our lemonade and eating cocoa-nuts round a fire that 
would have roasted an entire sheep, while the smoke, 
flames, and sparks flew up among the broad leaves of 
the overhanging palm trees, and cast a warm glow upon 
our leafy bower. 

That night the starry sky looked down through the 
gently rustling trees upon our slumbers, and the distant 
roaring of the surf upon the coral reef was our lullaby. 


CHAPTER III 


Morning , and cogitations connected therewith — Excursions 
among the coral groves at the bottom of the ocean — The 
wonders of the deep — An excursion into the interior , 
and interesting discoveries — We get a dreadful fright 
— Signs of former inhabitants. 


W HAT a joyful thing it is to awaken, on a fresh 
glorious morning, and find the rising sun staring 
into your face with dazzling brilliancy! to see the birds 
twittering in the bushes, and to hear the murmuring of a 
rill, or the soft hissing ripples as they fall upon the sea¬ 
shore! At any time and in any place such sights and 
sounds are most charming, but more especially are they 
so when one awakens to them, for the first time, in a 
novel and romantic situation, with the soft sweet air of a 
tropical climate mingling with the fresh smell of the sea, 
and stirring the strange leaves that flutter overhead and 
around one, or ruffling the plumage of the stranger birds 
that fly inquiringly around, as if to demand what busi¬ 
ness we have to intrude uninvited on their domains. 
When I awoke on the morning after the shipwreck, I 
found myself in this most delightful condition; and as 
I lay on my back upon my bed of leaves, gazing up 
through the branches of the cocoa-nut trees into the clear 
blue sky, and watched the few fleecy clouds that passed 
slowly across it, my heart expanded more and more with 
an exulting gladness, the like of which I had never felt 


Coral Island 


31 


before. While I meditated, my thoughts again turned 
to the great and kind Creator of this beautiful world, as 
they had done on the previous day, when I first beheld 
the sea and the coral reef, with the mighty waves dashing 
over it into the calm waters of the lagoon. 

They were still slumbering, so I again lay down to 
think over our situation. Just at that moment I was 
attracted by the sight of a very small parrot, which Jack 
afterwards told me was called a paroquet. It was seated 
on a twig that overhung Peterkin’s head, and I was 
speedily lost in admiration of its bright green plumage, 
which was mingled with other gay colours. While I 
looked I observed that the bird turned its head slowly 
from side to side and looked downwards, first with the 
one eye and then with the other. On glancing downwards 
I observed that Peterkin’s mouth was wide open, and that 
this remarkable bird was looking into it. Suddenly the 
paroquet bent down its head and uttered a loud scream 
in his face. This awoke him, and, with a cry of surprise, 
he started up, while the foolish bird flew precipitately 
away. 

“ Oh, you monster! ” cried Peterkin, shaking his fist at 
the bird. Then he yawned, and rubbed his eyes, and 
asked what o’clock it was. 

I smiled at this question, and answered that, as our 
watches were at the bottom of the sea, I could not tell, 
but it was a little past sunrise. 

Peterkin now began to remember where we were. As 
he looked up into the bright sky, and snuffed the scented 
air, his eyes glistened with delight, and he uttered a faint 


32 


Coral Island 


“ Hurrah! ” and yawned again. Then he gazed slowly 
round, till, observing the calm sea through an opening in 
the bushes, he started suddenly up as if he had received 
an electric shock, uttered a vehement shout, flung off his 
garments, and, rushing over the white sands, plunged 
into the water. The cry awoke Jack, who rose on his 
elbow T with a look of grave surprise; but this was followed 
by a quiet smile of intelligence on seeing Peterkin in the 
water. With an energy that he only gave way to in 
moments of excitement, Jack bounded to his feet, threw 
off his clothes, shook back his hair, and, with a lion-like 
spring, dashed over the sands and plunged into the sea 
with such force as quite to envelop Peterkin in a shower 
of spray. Jack was a remarkably good swimmer and 
diver, so that after his plunge we saw no sign of him for 
nearly a minute; after which he suddenly emerged, with 
a cry of joy, a good many yards out from the shore. My 
spirits were so much raised by seeing all this that I, too, 
hastily threw off my garments and endeavoured to imitate 
Jack’s vigorous bound; but I was so awkward that my 
foot caught on a stump, and I fell to the ground; then 
I slipped on a stone while running over the sand, and 
nearly fell again, much to the amusement of Peterkin, 
who laughed heartily, and called me a “ slow coach,” 
while Jack cried out, “ Come along, Ralph, and I’ll help 
you.” However, when I got into the water, I managed 
very well, for I was really a good swimmer and diver too. 
I could not, indeed, equal Jack, who was superior to any 
Englishman I ever saw; but I infinitely surpassed Peter¬ 
kin, who could only swim a little, and could not dive at all. 


Coral Island 


33 


While Peterkin enjoyed himself in the shallow water 
and in running along the beach, Jack and I swam out into 
the deep water, and occasionally dived for stones. I shall 
never forget my surprise and delight on first beholding 
the bottom of the sea. As I have before stated, the water 
within the reef was as calm as a pond; and, as there was 
no wind, it was quite clear from the surface to the bottom, 
so that we could see down easily even at a depth of twenty 
or thirty yards. When Jack and I dived into shallower 
water, we expected to have found sand and stones, instead 
of which we found ourselves in what appeared really to 
be an enchanted garden. The whole of the bottom of 
the lagoon, as we called the calm water within the reef, 
was covered with coral of every shape, size, and hue. 
Some portions were formed like large mushrooms; others 
appeared like the brain of a man, having stalks or necks 
attached to them; but the most common kind was a 
species of branching coral, and some portions were of a 
lovely pale pink colour, others were pure white. Among 
this there grew large quantities of seaweed of the richest 
hues imaginable, and of the most graceful forms; while 
innumerable fishes — blue, red, yellow, green, and striped 
— sported in and out amongst the flower-beds of this 
submarine garden, and did not appear to be at all afraid 
of our approaching them. 

On darting to the surface for breath, after our first 
dive, Jack and I rose close to each other. 

“ Did you ever in your life, Ralph, see anything 
so lovely? ” said Jack, as he flung the spray from his 
hair. 


34 


Coral Island 


“ Never,” I replied. “ It appears to me like fairy 
realms. I can scarcely believe that we are not dreaming.” 

“ Dreaming! ” cried Jack; “ do you know, Ralph, I'm 
half tempted to think that we really are dreaming. But 
if so, I am resolved to make the most of it, and dream 
another dive; so here goes — down again, my boy! ” 

We took the second dive together, and kept beside 
each other while under water; and I was greatly sur¬ 
prised to find that we could keep down much longer than 
I ever recollect having done in our own seas at home. I 
believe that this was owing to the heat of the water, 
which was so warm that we afterwards found we could 
remain in it for two and three hours at a time without 
feeling any unpleasant effects such as we used to experience 
in the sea at home. When Jack reached the bottom, he 
grasped the coral stems, and crept along on his hands and 
knees, peeping under the seaweed and among the rocks. 
I observed him also pick up one or two large oysters and 
retain them in his grasp, as if he meant to take them up 
with him, so I also gathered a few. Suddenly he made a 
grasp at a fish with blue and yellow stripes on its back, 
and actually touched its tail, but did not catch it. At 
this he turned towards me and attempted to smile; but 
no sooner had he done so than he sprang like an arrow to 
the surface, where, on following him, I found him gasping 
and coughing, and spitting water from his mouth. In a 
few minutes he recovered, and we both turned to swim 
ashore. 

“ I declare, Ralph,” said he, “ that I actually tried to 
laugh under water.” 


Coral Island 


35 


“ So I saw,” I replied; “ and I observed that you very 
nearly caught that fish by the tail. It would have done 
capitally for breakfast if you had.” 

“ Breakfast enough here,” said he, holding up the 
oysters, as we landed and ran up the beach. “ Hallo, 
Peterkin! here you are, boy. Split open these fellows 
while Ralph and I put on our clothes. They’ll agree with 
the cocoa-nuts excellently, I have no doubt.” 

Peterkin, who was already dressed, took the oysters, 
and opened them with the edge of our axe, exclaim¬ 
ing, “ Now, that is capital. There’s nothing I’m so 
fond of.” 

“ Ah! that’s lucky,” remarked Jack. “ I’ll be able to 
keep you in good order now, Master Peterkin. You 
know you can’t dive any better than a cat. So, sir, 
whenever you behave ill, you shall have no oysters for 
breakfast.” 

“ I’m very glad that our prospect of breakfast is so 
good,” said I, “ for I’m very hungry.” 

“ Here, then, stop your mouth with that, Ralph,” said 
Peterkin, holding a large oyster to my lips. I opened 
my mouth and swallowed it in silence, and really it was 
remarkably good. 

We now set ourselves earnestly about our preparations 
for spending the day. We had no difficulty with the 
fire this morning, as our burning-glass was an admirable 
one; and while we roasted a few oysters and ate our 
cocoa-nuts, we held a long, animated conversation about 
our plans for the future. What those plans were, and 


36 


Coral Island 


how we carried them into effect, the reader shall see 
hereafter. 

Our first care, after breakfast, was to place the few 
articles we possessed in the crevice of a rock at the farther 
end of a small cave which we discovered near our encamp¬ 
ment. This cave, we hoped, might be useful to us after¬ 
wards as a storehouse. Then we cut two large clubs off 
a species of very hard tree which grew near at hand. 
One of these was given to Peterkin, the other to me, and 
Jack armed himself with the axe. We took these pre¬ 
cautions because we purposed to make an excursion to 
the top of the mountains of the interior, in order to obtain 
a better view of our island. Of course we knew not what 
dangers might befall us by the way, so thought it best to 
be prepared. 

Having completed our arrangements and carefully 
extinguished our fire, we sallied forth and walked a short 
distance along the sea-beach, till we came to the entrance 
of a valley, through which flowed the rivulet before 
mentioned. Here we turned our backs on the sea and 
struck into the interior. 

The prospect that burst upon our view on entering 
the valley was truly splendid. On either side of us 
there was a gentle rise in the land, which thus formed 
two ridges about a mile apart on each side of the valley. 
These ridges — which, as well as the low grounds between 
them, were covered with trees and shrubs of the most 
luxuriant kind — continued to recede inland for about 
two miles, when they joined the foot of a small mountain. 
This hill rose rather abruptly from the head of the valley, 


Coral Island 


37 


and was likewise entirely covered even to the top with 
trees, except on one particular spot near the left shoulder, 
where was a bare and rocky place of a broken and savage 
character. Beyond this hill we could not see, and we 
therefore directed our course up the banks of the rivulet 
towards the foot of it, intending to climb to the top, 
should that be possible, as, indeed, we had no doubt it was. 

Jack being the wisest and boldest among us, took the 
lead, carrying the axe on his shoulder. Peterkin, with 
his enormous club, came second, as he said he should 
like to be in a position to defend me if any danger should 
threaten. I brought up the rear, but, having been more 
taken up with the wonderful and curious things I saw 
at starting than with thoughts of possible danger, I 
had very foolishly left my club behind me. Although, 
as I have said, the trees and bushes were very luxuriant, 
they were not so thickly crowded together as to hinder 
our progress among them. We were able to wind in 
and out, and to follow the banks of the stream quite 
easily, although the height and thickness of the foliage 
prevented us from seeing far ahead. But sometimes a 
jutting-out rock on the hillsides afforded us a position 
whence we could enjoy the romantic view. I was par¬ 
ticularly struck, during the walk, with the richness of the 
undergrowth in most places, and recognised many berries 
and plants that resembled those of my native land, es¬ 
pecially a tall, elegantly formed fern, which emitted an 
agreeable perfume. There were several kinds of flowers, 
too, but I did not see so many of these as I should have 
expected in such a climate. We also saw a great variety 


38 


Coral Island 


of small birds of bright plumage, and many paroquets 
similar to the one that awoke Peterkin so rudely in the 
morning. 

Thus we advanced to the foot of the hill without 
encountering anything to alarm us, except, indeed, once, 
when we were passing close under a part of the hill which 
was hidden from our view by the broad leaves of the 
banana trees, which grew in great luxuriance in that 
part. Jack was just preparing to force his way through 
this thicket, when we were startled and arrested by a 
strange pattering or rumbling sound which appeared 
to us quite different from any of the sounds we had heard 
during the previous part of our walk. 

“ Hallo! ” cried Peterkin, stopping short and grasping 
his club with both hands, “ what’s that? ” 

Neither of us replied; but Jack seized his axe in his 
right hand, while with the other he pushed aside the 
broad leaves and endeavoured to peer amongst them. 

“ I can see nothing,” he said, after a short pause. “ I 
think it-” 

Again the rumbling sound came, louder than before, 
and we all sprang back and stood on the defensive. For 
myself, having forgotten my club, and not having taken 
the precaution to cut another, I buttoned my jacket, 
doubled my fists, and threw myself into a boxing attitude. 
I must say, however, that I felt somewhat uneasy; and 
my companions afterwards confessed that their thoughts 
at this moment had been instantly filled with all they 
had ever heard or read of wild beasts and savages, tor¬ 
turings at the stake, roastings alive, and such like horrible 


Coral Island 


39 


things. Suddenly the pattering noise increased with 
tenfold violence. It was followed by a fearful crash among 
the bushes, which was rapidly repeated, as if some gigantic 
animal were bounding towards us. In another moment 
an enormous rock came crashing through the shrubbery, 
followed by a cloud of dust and small stones, and flew close 
past the spot where we stood, carrying bushes and young 
trees along with it. 

“ Pooh! is that all? ” exclaimed Peterkin, wiping the 
perspiration off his forehead. “ Why, I thought it was 
all the wild men and beasts in the South Sea Islands 
galloping on in one grand charge to sweep us off the face 
of the earth, instead of a mere stone tumbling down the 
mountain-side/’ 

“ Nevertheless,” remarked Jack, “ if that same stone 
had hit any of us, it would have rendered the charge you 
speak of quite unnecessary, Peterkin.” 

This was true, and I felt very thankful for our escape. 
On examining the spot more narrowly, we found that 
it lay close to the foot of a very rugged precipice, from 
which stones of various sizes were always tumbling at 
intervals. Indeed, the numerous fragments lying scat¬ 
tered all around might have suggested the cause of the 
sound, had we not been too suddenly alarmed to think of 
anything. 

We now resumed our journey, resolving that, in our 
future excursions into the interior, we would be careful 
to avoid this dangerous precipice. 

Soon afterwards we arrived at the foot of the hill and 
prepared to ascend it. Here Jack made a discovery 


40 


Coral Island 


which caused us all very great joy. This was a tree of 
a remarkably beautiful appearance, which Jack confi¬ 
dently declared to be the celebrated bread-fruit tree. 

“ Is it celebrated? ” inquired Peterkin, with a look of 
great simplicity. 

“ It is,” replied Jack. 

“ That’s odd, now,” rejoined Peterkin; “ I never heard 
of it before.” 

“ Then it’s not so celebrated as I thought it was,” 
returned Jack, quietly squeezing Peterkin’s hat over 
his eyes; “ but listen, you ignorant booby! and hear of 
it now.” 

Peterkin readjusted his hat, and was soon listening 
with as much interest as myself, while Jack told us that 
this tree is one of the most valuable in the islands of the 
south; that it bears two, sometimes three, crops of fruit 
in the year; that the fruit is very like wheaten bread in 
appearance, and that it constitutes the principal food of 
many of the islanders. 

“ So,” said Peterkin, “ we seem to have everything 
ready prepared to our hands in this wonderful island — 
lemonade ready bottled in nuts, and loaf-bread growing 
on the trees! ” 

Peterkin, as usual, was jesting; nevertheless, it is a 
curious fact that he spoke almost the literal truth. 

“ Moreover,” continued Jack, “ the bread-fruit tree 
affords a capital gum, which serves the natives for pitching 
their canoes; the bark of the young branches is made 
by them into cloth; and of the wood, which is durable 
and of a good colour, they build their houses. So 


Coral Island 


41 


you see, lads, that we have no lack of material here 
to make us comfortable, if we are only clever enough 
to use it.” 

“ But are you sure that that’s it? ” asked Peterkin. 

“ Quite sure,” replied Jack; “ for I was particularly 
interested in the account I once read of it, and I re¬ 
member the description well. I am sorry, however, that 
I have forgotten the descriptions of many other trees 
which I am sure we have seen to-day, if we could but 
recognise them. So you see, Peterkin, I’m not up to 
everything yet.” 

“ Never mind. Jack,” said Peterkin, with a grave, 
patronising expression of countenance, patting his tall 
companion on the shoulder — 44 never mind, Jack; you 
know a good deal for your age. You’re a clever boy, sir 
— a promising young man; and if you only go on as you 
have begun, sir, you will — ” 

The end of this speech was suddenly cut short by Jack 
tripping up Peterkin’s heels and tumbling him into a 
mass of thick shrubs, where, finding himself comfortable, 
he lay still, basking in the sunshine, while Jack and I 
examined the bread-fruit tree. 

We were much struck with the deep, rich green colour 
of its broad leaves, which were twelve or eighteen inches 
long, deeply indented, and of a glossy smoothness, like 
the laurel. The fruit, with which it was loaded, was 
nearly round, and appeared to be about six inches in 
diameter, with a rough rind, marked with lozenge-shaped 
divisions. It was of various colours, from light pea-green 
to brown and rich yellow. Jack said that the yellow was 


42 


Coral Island 


the ripe fruit. We afterwards found that most of the 
fruit-trees on the island were evergreens, and that we 
might, when we wished, pluck the blossom and the ripe 
fruit from the same tree. Such a wonderful difference 
from the trees of our own country surprised us not a little. 
The bark of the tree was rough and light-coloured; the 
trunk was about two feet in diameter, and it appeared to 
be twenty feet high, being quite destitute of branches up 
to that height, where it branched off into a beautiful and 
umbrageous head. We noticed that the fruit hung in 
clusters of twos and threes on the branches; but as we 
were anxious to get to the top of the hill, we refrained 
from attempting to pluck any at that time. 

Our hearts were now very much cheered by our good 
fortune, and it was with light and active steps that we 
clambered up the steep sides of the hill. On reaching the 
summit, a new and, if possible, a grander prospect, met 
our gaze. We found that this was not the highest part 
of the island, but that another hill lay beyond, with a 
wide valley between it and the one on which we stood. 
This valley, like the first, was also full of rich trees, some 
dark and some light green, some heavy and thick in 
foliage, and others light, feathery, and graceful, while 
the beautiful blossoms on many of them threw a sort of 
rainbow tint over all, and gave to the valley the appear¬ 
ance of a garden of flowers. Among these we recognised 
many of the bread-fruit trees, laden with yellow fruit, 
and also a great many cocoa-nut palms. After gazing 
our fill, we pushed down the hillside, crossed the valley, 
and soon began to ascend the second mountain. It was 


Coral Island 


43 


clothed with trees nearly to the top, but the summit was 
bare, and in some places broken. 

While on our way up we came to an object which 
filled us with much interest. This was the stump of 
a tree that had evidently been cut down with an axe! 
So, then, we were not the first who had viewed this 
beautiful isle. The hand of man had been at work 
there before us. It now began to recur to us again that 
perhaps the island was inhabited, although we had not 
seen any traces of man until now; but a second glance 
at the stump convinced us that we had not more reason 
to think so now than formerly; for the surface of the 
wood was quite decayed, and partly covered with fungus 
and green matter, so that it must have been cut many 
years ago. 

“ Perhaps,” said Peterkin, “ some ship or other has 
touched here long ago for wood, and only taken one tree.” 

We did not think this likely, however, because, in such 
circumstances, the crew of a ship would cut wood of small 
size, and near the shore, whereas this was a large tree 
and stood near the top of the mountain. In fact, it was 
the highest large tree on the mountain, all above it being 
wood of very recent growth. 

“ I can’t understand it,” said Jack, scratching the sur¬ 
face of the stump with his axe. “ I can only suppose 
that the savages have been here and cut it for some pur¬ 
pose known only to themselves. But, hallo! what have 
we here? ” 

As he spoke, Jack began carefully to scrape away the 
moss and fungus from the stump, and soon laid bare 


44 


Coral Island 


three distinct traces of marks, as if some inscription or 
initials had been cut thereon. But although the traces 
were distinct, beyond all doubt, the exact form of the 
letters could not be made out. Jack thought they looked 
like J. S., but we could not be certain. They had appar¬ 
ently been carelessly cut, and long exposure to the 
weather had so broken them up that we could not make 
out what they were. We were exceedingly perplexed at 
this discovery, and stayed a long time at the place con¬ 
jecturing what these marks could have been, but without 
avail; so, as the day was advancing, we left it and quickly 
reached the top of the mountain. 

We found this to be the highest point of the island, 
and from it we saw our kingdom lying, as it were, like a 
map around us. As I have always thought it impossible 
to get a thing properly into one’s understanding without 
comprehending it, I shall beg the reader’s patience for 
a little while I describe our island, thus, shortly: — 

It consisted of two mountains: the one we guessed at 
500 feet; the other, on which we stood, at 1000. Between 
these lay a rich, beautiful valley, as already said. This 
valley crossed the island from one end to the other, being 
high in the middle and sloping on each side towards the 
sea. The large mountain sloped, on the side farthest 
from where we had been wrecked, gradually towards the 
sea; but although, when viewed at a glance, it had thus a 
regular sloping appearance, a more careful observation 
showed that it was broken up into a multitude of very 
small vales, or rather dells and glens, intermingled with 
little rugged spots and small but abrupt precipices here 


Coral Island 


45 


and there, with rivulets tumbling over their edges and 
wandering down the slopes in little white streams, some¬ 
times glistening among the broad leaves of the bread¬ 
fruit and cocoa-nut trees, or hiding altogether beneath 
the rich underwood. At the base of this mountain lay a 
narrow bright green plain or meadow, which terminated 
abruptly at the shore. On the other side of the island, 
whence we had come, stood the smaller hill, at the foot of 
which diverged three valleys; one being that which we 
had ascended, with a smaller vale on each side of it, and 
separated from it by the two ridges before mentioned. 
In these smaller valleys there were no streams, but they 
were clothed with the same luxuriant vegetation. 

The diameter of the island seemed to be about ten 
miles, and as it was almost circular in form, its circum¬ 
ference must have been thirty miles — perhaps a little 
more, if allowance be made for the numerous bays and 
indentations of the shore. The entire island was belted 
by a beach of pure white sand, on which laved the gentle 
ripples of the lagoon. We now also observed that the 
coral reef completely encircled the island; but it varied 
its distance from it here and there, in some places being 
a mile from the beach, in others a few hundred yards, but 
the average distance was half a mile. The reef lay very 
low, and the spray of the surf broke quite over it in 
many places. This surf never ceased its roar, for how¬ 
ever calm the weather might be, there is always a gentle 
swaying motion in the great Pacific, which, although 
scarce noticeable out at sea, reaches the shore at last in 
a huge billow. The water within the lagoon, as before 


46 


Coral Island 


said, was perfectly still. There were three narrow open¬ 
ings in the reef: one opposite each end of the valley 
which I have described as crossing the island; the other 
opposite our own valley, which we afterwards named the 
Valley of the Wreck. At each of these openings the 
reef rose into two small green islets, covered with bushes 
and having one or two cocoa-nut palms on each. These 
islets were very singular, and appeared as if planted 
expressly for the purpose of marking the channel into 
the lagoon. Our captain was making for one of these 
openings the day we were wrecked, and would have 
reached it too, I doubt not, had not the rudder been torn 
away. Within the lagoon were several pretty, low coral 
islands, just opposite our encampment; and immediately 
beyond these, out at sea, lay about a dozen other islands, 
at various distances, from half a mile to ten miles; — all 
of them, as far as we could discern, smaller than ours 
and apparently uninhabited. They seemed to be low 
coral islands, raised but little above the sea, yet covered 
with cocoa-nut trees. 

All this we noted and a great deal more, while we sat 
on the top of the mountain. After we had satisfied 
ourselves we prepared to return; but here again we dis¬ 
covered traces of the presence of man. These were a 
pole or staff and one or two pieces of wood which had 
been squared with an axe. All of these were, however, 
very much decayed, and they had evidently not been 
touched for many years. 

Full of these discoveries we returned to our encampment. 
On the way we fell in with the traces of some four-footed 


Coral Island 


47 


animal, but whether old or of recent date none of us were 
able to guess. This also tended to raise our hopes of 
obtaining some animal food on the island, so we reached 
home in good spirits, quite prepared for supper, and 
highly satisfied with our excursion. 

After much discussion, in which Peterkin took the lead, 
we came to the conclusion that the island was uninhabited, 
and went to bed. 


CHAPTER IV 


Jack’s ingenuity — Horrible encounter with a shark — 
More difficulties overcome — Curious creatures of the 
sea — The tank — Peterkin’s first voyage — Cloth 
found growing on a tree — Arms prepared for offence 
and defence. 

F OR several days after the excursion related in the last 
chapter we did not wander far from our encampment, 
but gave ourselves up to forming plans for the future and 
making our present abode comfortable. 

There were various causes that induced this state of 
comparative inaction. In the first place, although every¬ 
thing around us was so delightful, and we could without 
difficulty obtain all that we required for our bodily com¬ 
fort, we did not quite like the idea of settling down here 
for the rest of our lives, far away from our friends and 
our native land. To set energetically about preparations 
for a permanent residence seemed so like making up our 
minds to saying adieu to home and friends for ever, that 
we tacitly shrank from it, and put off our preparations, 
for one reason and another, as long as we could. Then 
there was a little uncertainty still as to there being natives 
on the island, and we entertained a kind of faint hope 
that a ship might come and take us off. But as day after 


Coral Island 


49 


day passed, and neither savages nor ships. appeared, we 
gave up all hope of an early deliverance, and set diligently 
to work at our homestead. 

During this time, however, we had not been altogether 
idle. We made several experiments in cooking the cocoa- 
nut, most of which did not improve it. Then we re¬ 
moved our goods, and took up our abode in the cave, but 
found the change so bad that we returned gladly to the 
bower. Besides this, we bathed very frequently, and 
talked a great deal: at least Jack and Peterkin did — I 
listened. Among other useful things, Jack, who was ever 
the most active and diligent, converted about three inches 
of the hoop-iron into an excellent knife. First he beat 
it quite flat with the axe. Then he made a rude handle, 
and tied the hoop-iron to it with our piece of whipcord, 
and ground it to an edge on a piece of sandstone. When 
it was finished, he used it to shape a better handle, to 
which he fixed it with a strip of his cotton handkerchief 
— in which operation he had, as Peterkin pointed out, 
torn off one of Lord Nelson’s noses. However, the whip¬ 
cord, thus set free, was used by Peterkin as a fishing-line. 
He merely tied a piece of oyster to the end of it. This 
the fish were allowed to swallow, and then they were 
pulled quickly ashore. But as the line was very short 
and we had no boat, the fish we caught were exceedingly 
small. 

One day Peterkin came up from the beach, where he 
had been angling, and said in a very cross tone, “I’ll tell 
you what. Jack, I’m not going to be humbugged with 
catching such contemptible things any longer. I want 


50 Coral Island 

you to swim out with me on your back, and let me fish 
in deep water! ” 

“ Dear me, Peterkin! ” replied Jack, “ I had no idea 
you were taking the thing so much to heart, else I would 
have got you out of that difficulty long ago. Let me 
see ” — and Jack looked down at a piece of timber on 
which he had been labouring, with a peculiar gaze of 
abstraction, which he always assumed when trying to 
invent or discover anything. 

“ What say you to building a boat? ” he inquired, 
looking up hastily. 

“ Take far too long,” was the reply; “ can’t be bothered 
waiting. I want to begin at once! ” 

Again Jack considered. “ I have it! ” he cried. “ We’ll 
fell a large tree and launch the trunk of it in the water, 
so that when you want to fish you’ve nothing to do but 
to swim out to it.” 

“ Would not a small raft do better? ” said I. 

“ Much better; but we have no ropes to bind it to¬ 
gether with. Perhaps we may find something hereafter 
that will do as well, but in the meantime let us try the 
tree.” 

This was agreed on, so we started off to a spot not far 
distant, where we knew of a tree that would suit us, which 
grew near the water’s edge. As soon as we reached it 
Jack threw off his coat, and, wielding the axe with his 
sturdy arms, hacked and hewed at it for a quarter of an 
hour without stopping. Then he paused, and while he 
sat down to rest I continued the work. Then Peterkin 
made a vigorous attack on it, so that when Jack renewed 


Coral Island 


51 


his powerful blows, a few minutes’ cutting brought it down 
with a terrible crash. 

“ Hurrah! now for it,” cried Jack; “ let us off with its 
head.” 

So saying he began to cut through the stem again, 
at about six yards from the thick end. This done, 
he cut three strong, short poles or levers from the 
stout branches, with which to roll the log down the 
beach into the sea; for, as it was nearly two feet 
thick at the large end, we could not move it without 
such helps. With the levers, however, we rolled it 
slowly into the sea. 

Having been thus successful in launching our vessel, 
we next shaped the levers into rude oars or paddles, and 
then attempted to embark. This was easy enough to 
do; but after seating ourselves astride the log, it was with 
the utmost difficulty we kept it from rolling round and 
plunging us into the water. Not that we minded that 
much; but we preferred, if possible, to fish in dry clothes. 
To be sure, our trousers were necessarily wet, as our legs 
were dangling in the water on each side of the log; but 
as they could be easily dried, we did not care. After 
half-an-hour’s practice, we became expert enough to keep 
our balance pretty steadily. Then Peterkin laid down 
his paddle, and having baited his line with a whole oyster, 
dropped it into deep water. 

“Now then, Jack,” said he, “ be cautious; steer clear 
o’ that seaweed. There! that’s it; gently now, gently. 
I see a fellow at least a foot long down there, coming to 
— ha! that’s it! Oh bother! he’s off.” 


52 


Coral Island 


“ Did he bite? ” said Jack, urging the log onwards a 
little with his paddle. 

“ Bite? ay! He took it into his mouth, but the moment 
I began to haul he opened his jaws and let it out again.” 

“ Let him swallow it next time,” said Jack, laughing 
at the melancholy expression of Peterkin’s visage. 

“ There he’s again,” cried Peterkin, his eyes flashing 
with excitement. “ Look out! Now then! No! Yes! 
No! Why the brute won't swallow it! ” 

“ Try to haul him up by the mouth, then,” cried Jack. 
“ Do it gently.” 

A heavy sigh and a look of blank despair showed that 
poor Peterkin had tried and failed again. 

“ Never mind, lad,” said Jack, in a voice of sympathy, 
“ we’ll move on, and offer it to some other fish.” So 
saying, Jack plied his paddle; but scarcely had he moved 
from the spot, when a fish with an enormous head and a 
little body darted from under a rock and swallowed the 
bait at once. 

“ Got him this time — that’s a fact! ” cried Peterkin, 
hauling in the line. “ He’s swallowed the bait right 
down to his tail, I declare. Oh, what a thumper! ” 

As the fish came struggling to the surface, we leaned 
forward to see it, and overbalanced the log. Peterkin 
threw his arms round the fish’s neck, and in another 
instant we were all floundering in the water. 

A shout of laughter burst from us as we rose to the 
surface like three drowned rats, and seized hold of the 
log. We soon recovered our position, and sat more 
warily, while Peterkin secured the fish, which had well- 


Coral Island 


53 


nigh escaped in the midst of our struggles. It was little 
worth having, however; but, as Peterkin remarked, it 
was better than the smouts he had been catching for the 
last two or three days; so we laid it on the log before us, 
and having re-baited the line, dropped it in again for 
another. 

Now, while we were thus intent upon our sport, our 
attention was suddenly attracted by a ripple on the sea, 
just a few yards away from us. Peterkin shouted to us 
to paddle in that direction, as he thought it was a big 
fish, and we might have a chance of catching it. But 
Jack, instead of complying, said, in a deep, earnest tone 
of voice, which I never before heard him use — 

“ Haul up your line, Peterkin; seize your paddle; 
quick — it’s a shark! ” 

The horror with which we heard this may well be 
imagined, for it must be remembered that our legs were 
hanging down in the water, and we could not venture to 
pull them up without upsetting the log. Peterkin in¬ 
stantly hauled up the line, and grasping his paddle, 
exerted himself to the utmost, while we also did our best 
to make for shore. But we were a good way off, and the 
log being, as I have before said, very heavy, moved but 
slowly through the water. We now saw the shark quite 
distinctly swimming round and round us, its sharp fin 
every now and then protruding above the water. From 
its active and unsteady motions, Jack knew it was making 
up its mind to attack us, so he urged us vehemently to 
paddle for our lives, while he himself set us the example. 
Suddenly he shouted, 44 Look out! there he comes! ” and 


54 


Coral Island 


in a second we saw the monstrous fish dive close under us, 
and turn half over on his side. But we all made a great 
commotion with our paddles, which no doubt frightened 
it away for that time, as we saw it immediately after 
circling round us as before. 

“ Throw the fish to him,” cried Jack, in a quick, sup¬ 
pressed voice; “ we’ll make the shore in time yet if we 
can keep him off for a few minutes.” 

Peterkin stopped one instant to obey the command, 
and then plied his paddle again with all his might. No 
sooner had the fish fallen on the water than we observed 
the shark to sink. In another second we saw its white 
breast rising; for sharks always turn over on their sides 
when about to seize their prey, their mouths being not at 
the point of their heads like those of other fish, but, as it 
were, under their chins. In another moment his snout 
rose above the water; his wide jaws, armed with a terrific 
double row of teeth, appeared. The dead fish was en¬ 
gulfed, and the shark sank out of sight. But Jack was 
mistaken in supposing that it would be satisfied. In a 
very few minutes it returned to us, and its quick motions 
led us to fear that it would attack us at once. 

“ Stop paddling,” cried Jack suddenly. “ I see it com¬ 
ing up behind us. Now, obey my orders quickly. Our 
lives may depend on it. Ralph, Peterkin, do your best 
to balance the log. Don’t look out for the shark. Don’t 
glance behind you. Do nothing but balance the log.” 

Peterkin and I instantly did as we were ordered, being 
only too glad to do anything that afforded us a chance or 
a hope of escape, for we had implicit confidence in Jack’s 


Coral Island 


55 


courage and wisdom. For a few seconds, that seemed 
long minutes to my mind, we sat thus silently; but I 
could not resist glancing backward, despite the orders to 
the contrary. On doing so, I saw Jack sitting rigid like 
a statue, with his paddle raised, his lips compressed, and 
his eyebrows bent over his eyes, which glared savagely 
from beneath them down into the water. I also saw the 
shark, to my horror, quite close under the log, in the act 
of darting towards Jack’s foot. I could scarce suppress 
a cry on beholding this. In another moment the shark 
rose. Jack drew his leg suddenly from the water, and 
threw it over the log. The monster’s snout rubbed 
against the log as it passed, and revealed its hideous jaws, 
into which Jack instantly plunged the paddle, and thrust 
it down its throat. So violent was this act that Jack 
rose to his feet in performing it; the log was thereby 
rolled completely over, and we were once more plunged 
into the water. We all rose, spluttering and gasping, in 
a moment. 

“ Now, then, strike out for shore,” cried Jack. “ Here, 
Peterkin, catch hold of my collar, and kick out with a 
will.” 

Peterkin did as he was desired, and Jack struck out 
with such force that he cut through the water like a boat; 
while I, being free from all encumbrance, succeeded in 
keeping up with him. As we had by this time drawn 
pretty near to the shore, a few minutes more sufficed to 
carry us into shallow water; and, finally, we landed in 
safety, though very much exhausted, and not a little 
frightened by our terrible adventure. 


56 


Coral Island 


Our encounter with the shark was the first great danger 
that had befallen us since landing on this island, and 
we felt very seriously affected by it, especially when we 
considered that we had so often unwittingly incurred the 
same danger before while bathing. We were now forced 
to take to fishing again in the shallow water, until we 
should succeed in constructing a raft. What troubled us 
most, however, was, that we were compelled to forego our 
morning swimming excursions. We did, indeed, continue 
to enjoy our bathe in the shallow water, but Jack and I 
found that one great source of our enjoyment was gone, 
when we could no longer dive down among the beautiful 
coral groves at the bottom of the lagoon. We had come 
to be so fond of this exercise, and to take such an interest 
in watching the formations of coral and the gambols of 
the many beautiful fish amongst the forest of red and 
green seaweeds, that we had become quite familiar with the 
appearance of the fish and the localities that they chiefly 
haunted. We had also become expert divers. But we 
made it a rule never to stay long under water at a time. 

Jack told me that to do so often was bad for the lungs, 
and, instead of affording us enjoyment, would ere long do 
us a serious injury. So we never stayed at the bottom as 
long as we might have done, but came up frequently to 
the top for fresh air, and dived down again immediately. 
Sometimes, when Jack happened to be in a humorous 
frame, he would seat himself at the bottom of the sea on 
one of the brain-corals, as if he were seated on a large 
paddock-stool, and then make faces at me, in order, if 
possible, to make me laugh under water. At first, when 


Coral Island 


57 


he took me unawares, he nearly succeeded, and I had to 
shoot to the surface in order to laugh; but afterwards I 
became aware of his intentions, and being naturally of a 
grave disposition, I had no difficulty in restraining myself. 
I used often to wonder how poor Peterkin would have 
liked to be with us; and he sometimes expressed much 
regret at being unable to join us. I used to do my best to 
gratify him, poor fellow, by relating all the wonders that 
we saw; but this, instead of satisfying, seemed only to 
whet his curiosity the more, so one day we prevailed on 
him to try to go down with us. But although a brave 
boy in every other way, Peterkin was very nervous in the 
water, and it was with difficulty we got him to consent to 
be taken down, for he could never have managed to push 
himself down to the bottom without assistance. But no 
sooner had we pulled him down a yard or so into the deep 
clear water, than he began to struggle and kick violently; 
so we were forced to let him go, when he rose out of the 
water like a cork, gave a loud gasp and a frightful roar, 
and struck out for the land with the utmost possible haste. 

Now all this pleasure we were to forego, and when we 
thought thereon, Jack and I felt very much depressed in 
our spirits. I could see, also, that Peterkin grieved and 
sympathised with us, for when talking about this matter 
he refrained from jesting and bantering us upon it. 

As, however, a man’s difficulties usually set him upon 
devising methods to overcome them, whereby he often 
discovers better things than those he may have lost, so 
this our difficulty induced us to think of searching for a 
large pool among the rocks, where the water should be 


58 


Coral Island 


deep enough for diving, yet so surrounded by rocks as to 
prevent sharks from getting at us. And such a pool we 
afterwards found, which proved to be very much better 
than our most sanguine hopes anticipated. It was situ¬ 
ated not more than ten minutes’ walk from our camp, and 
was in the form of a small deep bay or basin, the entrance 
to which, besides being narrow, was so shallow that no fish 
so large as a shark could get in, at least not unless he 
should be a remarkably thin one. 

Inside of this basin, which we called our Water Gar¬ 
den, the coral formations were much more wonderful, and 
the seaweed plants far more lovely and vividly coloured, 
than in the lagoon itself. And the water was so clear 
and still, that, although very deep, you could see the 
minutest object at the bottom. Besides this, there was 
a ledge of rock which overhung the basin at its deepest 
part, from which we could dive pleasantly, and whereon 
Peterkin could sit and see not only all the wonders I had 
described to him, but also see Jack and me creeping 
amongst the marine shrubbery at the bottom, like — as he 
expressed it — “ two great white sea-monsters.” During 
these excursions of ours to the bottom of the sea, we 
began to get an insight into the manners and customs 
of its inhabitants, and to make discoveries of wonderful 
things, the like of which we never before conceived. 
Among other things, we were deeply interested with 
the operations of the little coral insect which, I was 
informed by Jack, is supposed to have entirely con¬ 
structed many of the numerous islands in the Pacific 
Ocean. And certainly, when we considered the great 


Coral Island 


59 


reef which these insects had formed round the island on 
which we were cast, and observed their ceaseless activity 
in building their myriad cells, it did at first seem as if 
this might be true; but then, again, when I looked at 
the mountains of the island, and reflected that there were 
thousands of such, many of them much higher, in the 
South Seas, I doubted that there must be some mistake 
here. But more of this hereafter. 

I also became much taken up with the manners and 
appearance of the anemones, and star-fish, and crabs, and 
sea-urchins, and such-like creatures; and was not content 
with watching those I saw during my dives in the Water 
Garden, but I must needs scoop out a hole in the coral 
rock close to it, which I filled with salt water, and stocked 
with sundry specimens of anemones and shell-fish, in order 
to watch more closely how they were in the habit of pass¬ 
ing their time. Our burning-glass also now became a 
great treasure to me, as it enabled me to magnify, and 
so to perceive more clearly the forms and actions of these 
curious creatures of the deep. 

Having now got ourselves into a very comfortable con¬ 
dition, we began to talk of a project which we had long 
had in contemplation — namely, to travel entirely round 
the island; in order, first, to ascertain whether it con¬ 
tained any other productions which might be useful to 
us; and, second, to see whether there might be any place 
more convenient and suitable for our permanent residence 
than that on which we were now encamped. Not that 
we were in any degree dissatisfied with it; on the con¬ 
trary, we entertained quite a home-feeling to our bower 


60 


Coral Island 


and its neighbourhood; but if a better place did exist, 
there was no reason why we should not make use 
of it. At any rate, it would be well to know of its 
existence. 

We had much earnest talk over this matter. But Jack 
proposed that, before undertaking such an excursion, we 
should supply ourselves with good defensive arms; for 
as we intended not only to go round all the shore, but 
to descend most of the valleys, before returning home, 
we should be likely to meet in with, he would not say 
dangers , but at least with everything that existed on the 
island, whatever that might be. 

“ Besides,” said Jack, “ it won’t do for us to live on 
cocoa-nuts and oysters always. No doubt they are very 
excellent in their way, but I think a little animal food 
now and then would be agreeable as well as good for us; 
and as there are many small birds among the trees, some 
of which are probably very good to eat, I think it would 
be a capital plan to make bows and arrows, with which 
we could easily knock them over.” 

“ First-rate! ” cried Peterkin. “ You will make the 
bows, Jack, and I’ll try my hand at the arrows. The 
fact is, I’m quite tired of throwing stones at the birds. 
I began the very day we landed, I think, and have per¬ 
severed up to the present time, but I’ve never hit any¬ 
thing yet.” 

“ You forget,” said I, “ you hit me one day on the 
shin.” 

“ Ah, true,” replied Peterkin, “ and a precious shindy 
you kicked up in consequence. But you were at least 


Coral Island 


61 


four yards away from the impudent paroquet I aimed 
at; so you see what a horribly bad shot I am.” 

“ But,” said I, “ Jack, you cannot make three bows and 
arrows before to-morrow, and would it not be a pity to 
waste time, now that we have made up our minds to go 
on this expedition? Suppose that you make one bow 
and arrow for yourself, and we can take our clubs? ” 

“ That’s true, Ralph. The day is pretty far advanced, 
and I doubt if I can make even one bow before dark. 
To be sure, I might work by firelight, after the sun goes 
down.” 

We had, up to this time, been in the habit of going to 
bed with the sun, as we had no pressing call to work o’ 
nights; and, indeed, our work during the day was usually 
hard enough — what between fishing, and improving our 
bower, and diving in the Water Garden, and rambling 
in the woods; so that when night came we were usually 
very glad to retire to our beds. But now that we had a 
desire to work at night, we felt a wish for candles. 

“ Won’t a good blazing fire give you light enough? ” 
inquired Peterkin. 

“ Yes,” replied Jack, “ quite enough; but then it will 
give us a great deal more than enough of heat in this 
warm climate of ours.” 

“ True,” said Peterkin; “ I forgot that. It would 
roast us.” 

“ Well, as you’re always doing that at any rate,” re¬ 
marked Jack, “ we could scarcely call it a change. But 
the fact is, I’ve been thinking over this subject before. 
There is a certain nut growing in these islands which is 


62 


Coral Island 


called the candle-nut, because the natives use it instead 
of candles, and I know all about it, and how to prepare 
it for burning-” 

“ Then why don’t you do it? ” interrupted Peterkin. 
“ Why have you kept us in the dark so long, you vile 
philosopher? ” 

“ Because,” said Jack, “ I have not seen the tree yet, 
and I’m not sure that I should know either the tree or the 
nuts if I did see them. You see, I forget the description.” 

“Ah! that’s just the way with me,” said Peterkin, with 
a deep sigh. “ I never could keep in my mind for half- 
an-hour the few descriptions I ever attempted to remem¬ 
ber. The very first voyage I ever made was caused by 
my mistaking a description, or forgetting it, which is 
the same thing. And a horrible voyage it was. I had 
to fight with the captain the whole way out, and made 
the homeward voyage by swimming! ” 

“ Come, Peterkin,” said I, “ you can’t get even me to 
believe that.” 

“ Perhaps not, but it’s true notwithstanding,” returned 
Peterkin, pretending to be hurt at my doubting his word. 

“ Let us hear how it happened,” said Jack, while a 
good-natured smile overspread his face. 

“ Well, you must know,” began Peterkin, “ that the 
very day before I went to sea, I was greatly taken up 
with a game at hockey, which I was playing with my 
old school-fellows for the last time before leaving them — 
you see I was young then, Ralph.” Peterkin gazed, in 
an abstracted and melancholy manner, out to sea. “ Well, 
in the midst of the game, my uncle, who had taken all 


Coral Island 


63 


the bother and trouble of getting me bound ’prentice 
and rigged out, came and took me aside, and told me that 
he was called suddenly away from home, and would not 
be able to see me aboard, as he had intended. ‘ How¬ 
ever,’ said he, ‘ the captain knows you are coming, so 
that’s not of much consequence; but as you’ll have to 
find the ship yourself, you must remember her name and 
description. D’ye hear, boy? ’ I certainly did hear, 
but I’m afraid I did not understand, for my mind was so 
taken up with the game, which I saw my side was losing, 
that I began to grow impatient, and the moment my 
uncle finished his description of the ship and bade me 
good-bye, I bolted back to my game, with only a confused 
idea of three masts, and a green painted tafferel, and a 
gilt figure-head of Hercules with his club at the bow. 
Next day I was so much cast down with everybody saying 
good-bye, and a lot o’ my female friends cryin’ horribly 
over me, that I did not start for the harbour, where the 
ship was lying among a thousand others, till it was almost 
too late. So I had to run the whole way. When I 
reached the pier, there were so many masts, and so much 
confusion, that I felt quite humble-bumbled in my 
faculties. ‘ Now,’ said I to myself, ‘ Peterkin, you’re in 
a fix.’ Then I fancied I saw a gilt figure-head and three 
masts, belonging to a ship just about to start; so I darted 
on board, but speedily jumped on shore again when I 
found that two of the masts belonged to another vessel, 
and the figure-head to a third! At last I caught sight of 
what I made sure was it — a fine large vessel just casting 
off her moorings. The tafferel was green. Three masts 


64 


Coral Island 


— yes, that must be it — and the gilt figure-head of 
Hercules. To be sure, it had a three-pronged pitchfork 
in its hand instead of a club; but that might be my uncle’s 
mistake, or perhaps Hercules sometimes varied his 
weapons. ‘ Cast off! ’ roared a voice from the quarter¬ 
deck. ‘ Hold on! ’ cried I, rushing frantically through the 
crowd. ‘Hold on! hold on!’ repeated some of the by¬ 
standers, while the men at the ropes delayed for a minute. 
This threw the captain into a frightful rage; for some of 
his friends had come down to see him off, and having his 
orders contradicted so flatly was too much for him. 
However, the delay was sufficient. I took a race and a 
good leap; the ropes were cast off; the steam-tug gave a 
puff, and we started. Suddenly the captain walks up to 
me: ‘ Where did you come from, you scamp, and what 
do you want here? ’ 

“ ‘ Please, sir,’ said I, touching my cap, ‘ I’m your new 
’prentice come aboard.’ 

“‘New ’prentice!’ said he, stamping; ‘I’ve got no 
new ’prentice. My boys are all aboard already. This 
is a trick, you young blackguard. You’ve run away, you 
have; ’ and the captain stamped about the deck and swore 
dreadfully; for, you see, the thought of having to stop 
the ship and lower a boat and lose half-an-hour, all for 
the sake of sending a small boy ashore, seemed to make 
him very angry. Besides, it was blowin’ fresh outside the 
harbour, so that to have let the steamer alongside to put 
me into it was no easy job. Just as we were passing the 
pierhead, where several boats w^ere rowing into the har¬ 
bour, the captain came up to me. 


Coral Island 65 

You’ve run away, you blackguard,’ he said, giving 
me a box on the ear. 

No, I haven’t,’ said I angrily; for the box was by 
no means a light one. 

Hark’ee, boy, can you swim? ’ 

“ ‘ Yes,’ said I. 

Then do it; ’ and seizing me by my trousers and the 
nape of my neck, he tossed me over the side into the sea. 
The fellows in the boats at the end of the pier backed 
their oars on seeing this; but observing that I could swim, 
they allowed me to make the best of my way to the pier¬ 
head. So you see, Ralph, that I really did swim my first 
homeward voyage.” 

Jack laughed, and patted Peterkin on the shoulder. 

“ But tell us about the candle-nut tree,” said I; “ you 
were talking about it.” 

“ Very true,” said Jack, “but I fear I can remember 
little about it. I believe the nut is about the size of a 
walnut; and I think, that the leaves are white, but I am 
not sure.” 

“ Eh! ha! hum! ” exclaimed Peterkin, “ I saw a tree 
answering to that description this very day.” 

“ Did you? ” cried Jack. “ Is it far from this? ” 

“ No, not half a mile.” 

“ Then lead me to it,” said Jack, seizing his axe. 

In a few minutes we were all three pushing through 
the underwood of the forest, headed by Peterkin. 

We soon came to the tree in question, which, after Jack 
had closely examined it, we concluded must be the candle- 
nut tree. Its leaves were of a beautiful silvery white, and 


66 


Coral Island 


formed a fine contrast to the dark-green foliage of the 
surrounding trees. We immediately filled our pockets 
with the nuts, after which Jack said — 

“ Now, Peterkin, climb that cocoa-nut tree and cut me 
one of the long branches.” 

This was soon done, but it cost some trouble, for the 
stem was very high, and as Peterkin usually pulled nuts 
from the younger trees, he was not much accustomed to 
climbing the high ones. The leaf or branch was a very 
large one, and we were surprised at its size and strength. 
Viewed from a little distance, the cocoa-nut tree seems to 
be a tall, straight stem, without a single branch except at 
the top, where there is a tuft of feathery-looking leaves, 
that seem to wave like soft plumes in the wind. But 
when we saw one of these leaves or branches at our feet, 
we found it to be a strong stalk, about fifteen feet long, 
with a number of narrow, pointed leaflets ranged alter¬ 
nately on each side. But what seemed to us the most 
wonderful thing about it was a curious substance resem¬ 
bling cloth, which was wrapped round the thick end of 
the stalk, where it had been cut from the tree. Peterkin 
told us that he had the greatest difficulty in separating 
the branch from the stem on account of this substance, as 
it was wrapped quite round the tree, and, he observed, 
round all the other branches, thus forming a strong sup¬ 
port to the large leaves while exposed to high winds. 
When I call this substance cloth I do not exaggerate. 
Indeed, with regard to all the things I saw during my 
eventful career in the South Seas, I have been exceedingly 
careful not to exaggerate, or in any way to mislead or de- 


Coral Island 


67 


ceive my readers. This cloth, I say, was remarkably like 
to coarse brown cotton cloth. It had a seam or fibre 
down the centre of it, from which diverged other fibres, 
about the size of a bristle. There were two layers of these 
fibres, very long and tough, the one layer crossing the 
other obliquely, and the whole was cemented together 
with a still finer fibrous and adhesive substance. When 
we regarded it attentively, we could with difficulty believe 
that it had not been woven by human hands. This re¬ 
markable piece of cloth we stripped carefully off, and found 
it to be above two feet long by a foot broad, and we car¬ 
ried it home with us as a great prize. 

Jack now took one of the leaflets, and, cutting out the 
central spine or stalk, hurried back with it to our camp. 
Having made a small fire, he baked the nuts slightly, and 
then peeled off the husks. After this he wished to bore 
a hole in them, which, not having anything better at 
hand at the time, he did with the point of our useless 
pencil-case. Then he strung them on the cocoa-nut spine, 
and on putting a light to the topmost nut, we found to 
our joy that it burned with a clear, beautiful flame; upon 
seeing which, Peterkin sprang up and danced around the 
fire for at least five minutes in the excess of his satis¬ 
faction. 

“ Now, lads,” said Jack, extinguishing our candle, “ the 
sun will set in an hour, so we have no time to lose. I 
shall go and cut a young tree to make my bo v out of, 
and you had better each of you go and select good strong 
sticks for clubs, and we’ll set to work at them after 
dark.” 


68 


Coral Island 


So saying he shouldered his axe and went off, followed 
by Peterkin, while I took up the piece of newly discovered 
cloth, and fell to examining its structure. So engrossed 
was I in this that I was still sitting in the same attitude 
and occupation when my companions returned. 

“ I told you so! ” cried Peterkin, with a loud laugh. 
“ O Ralph, you’re incorrigible. See, there’s a club for 
you. I was sure, when we left you looking at that bit 
of stuff, that we would find you poring over it when we 
came back, so I just cut a club for you as well as for 
myself.” 

“ Thank you, Peterkin,” said I. “ It was kind of you 
to do that, instead of scolding me for a lazy fellow, as I 
confess I deserve.” 

“ Oh, as to that,” returned Peterkin, “ I’ll blow you 
up yet, if you wish it; only it would be of no use if I did, 
for you’re a perfect mule! ” 

As it was now getting dark we lighted our candle, and 
placing it in a holder made of two crossing branches, in¬ 
side of our bower, we seated ourselves on our leafy beds 
and began to work. 

“ I intend to appropriate the bow for my own use,” 
said Jack, chipping the piece of wood he had brought 
with his axe. “ I used to be a pretty fair shot once. But 
what’s that you’re doing? ” he added, looking at Peterkin, 
who had drawn the end of a long pole into the tent, and 
was endeavouring to fit a small piece of the hoop-iron to 
the end of it. 

“I’m going to enlist into the Lancers,” answered Peter¬ 
kin. “ You see, Jack, I find the club rather an unw ieldy 


Coral Island 


69 


instrument for my delicately formed muscles, and I flatter 
myself I shall do more execution with a spear.” 

“ Well, if length constitutes power,” said Jack, “ you’ll 
certainly be invincible.” 

The pole which Peterkin had cut was full twelve feet 
long, being a very strong but light and tough young tree, 
which merely required thinning at the butt to be a serv¬ 
iceable weapon. 

“ That’s a very good idea,” said I. 

“ Which — this? ” inquired Peterkin, pointing to the 
spear. 

“ Yes,” I replied. 

“ Humph! ” said he; “ you’d find it a pretty tough and 
matter-of-fact idea if you had it stuck through your 
gizzard, old boy! ” 

“ I mean the idea of making it is a good one,” said I, 
laughing. “ And, now I think of it, I’ll change my plan 
too. I don’t think much of a club, so I’ll make me a sling 
out of this piece of cloth. I used to be very fond of sling¬ 
ing, ever since I read of David slaying Goliath the Philis¬ 
tine, and I was once thought to be expert at it.” 

So I set to work to manufacture a sling. For a long 
time we all worked very busily without speaking. At 
length Peterkin looked up. “ I say, Jack, I’m sorry to say 
I must apply to you for another strip of your handkerchief, 
to tie on this rascally head with. It’s pretty well torn at 
any rate, so you won’t miss it.” 

Jack proceeded to comply with this request, when Peter¬ 
kin suddenly laid his hand on his arm and arrested him. 

“ Hist, man,” said he, “ be tender; you should never 


70 


Coral Island 


be needlessly cruel if you can help it. Do try to shave 
past Lord Nelson’s mouth without tearing it, if possible! 
Thanks. There are plenty more handkerchiefs on the 
cocoa-nut trees.” 

Poor Peterkin! with what pleasant feelings I recall and 
record his jests and humorous sayings now! 

While we were thus engaged, we were startled by a dis¬ 
tant but most strange and horrible cry. It seemed to come 
from the sea, but was so far away that we could not clearly 
distinguish its precise direction. Rushing out of our 
bower, we hastened down to the beach and stayed to 
listen. Again it came quite loud and distinct on the 
night air — a prolonged, hideous cry, something like the 
braying of an ass. The moon had risen, and we could see 
the islands in and beyond the lagoon quite plainly, but 
there was no object visible to account for such a cry. A 
strong gust of wind was blowing from the point whence 
the sound came, but this died away while we were gazing 
out to sea. 

“ What can it be? ” said Peterkin in a low whisper, 
while we all involuntarily crept closer to each other. 

“ Do you know,” said Jack, “ I have heard that myste¬ 
rious sound twice before, but never so loud as to-night. 
Indeed it was so faint that I thought I must have merely 
fancied it, so, as I did not wish to alarm you, I said nothing 
about it.” 

We listened for a long time for the sound again, but as 
it did not come, we returned to the bower and resumed 
our work. 


Coral Island 


71 


“ Very strange,” said Peterkin, quite gravely. “ Do you 
believe in ghosts, Ralph? ” 

“ No,” I answered, “ I do not. Nevertheless I must 
confess that strange, unaccountable sounds, such as we 
have just heard, make me feel a little uneasy.” 

“ What say you to it. Jack? ” 

“ I neither believe in ghosts nor feel uneasy,” he replied. 
“ I never saw a ghost myself, and I never met with any 
one who had; and I have generally found that strange 
and unaccountable things have almost always been 
accounted for, and found to be quite simple on close 
examination. I certainly can’t imagine what that sound 
is; but I’m quite sure I shall find out before long, and if 
it’s a ghost I’ll — I’ll-- ” 

“ Eat it,” cried Peterkin. 

“ Yes, I’ll eat it! Now, then, my bow and two arrows 
are finished; so if you are ready we had better turn in.” 

By this time Peterkin had thinned down his spear and 
tied an iron point very cleverly to the end of it; I had 
formed a sling, the lines of which were composed of thin 
strips of the cocoa-nut cloth, plaited; and Jack had made 
a stout bow, nearly five feet long, with two arrows, 
feathered with two or three large plumes which some 
bird had dropped. They had no barbs, but Jack said 
that if arrows were well feathered they did not require 
iron points, but would fly quite well if merely sharpened 
at the point; which I did not know before. 

“ A feathered arrow without a barb,” said he, “ is a 
good weapon, but a barbed arrow without feathers is 
utterly useless.” 


72 


Coral Island 


The string of the bow was formed of our piece of whip¬ 
cord, part of which, as he did not like to cut it, was rolled 
round the bow. 

Although thus prepared for a start on the morrow, we 
thought it wise to exercise ourselves a little in the use of 
our weapons before starting, so we spent the whole of the 
next day in practising. And it was well we did so, for we 
found that our arms were very imperfect, and that we 
were far from perfect in the use of them. First, Jack 
found that the bow was much too strong, and he had to 
thin it. Also the spear was much too heavy, and so had 
to be reduced in thickness, although nothing would induce 
Peterkin to have it shortened. My sling answered very 
well, but I had fallen so much out of practice that my 
first stone knocked off Peterkin’s hat, and narrowly 
missed making a second Goliath of him. However, after 
having spent the whole day in diligent practice, we began 
to find some of our former expertness returning — at least 
Jack and I did. As for Peterkin, being naturally a neat- 
handed boy, he soon handled his spear well, and could 
run full tilt at a cocoa-nut, and hit it with great precision 
once out of every five times. 

But I feel satisfied that we owed much of our rapid 
success to the unflagging energy of Jack, who insisted 
that since we had made him captain, we should obey him; 
and he kept us at work from morning till night, persever- 
ingly, at the same thing. Peterkin wished very much to 
run about and stick his spear into everything he passed; 
but Jack put up a cocoa-nut, and would not let him leave 
off running at that for a moment, except when he wanted 


Coral Island 


73 


to rest. We laughed at Jack for this, but we were both 
convinced that it did us much good. 

That night we examined and repaired our arms ere we 
lay down to rest, although we were much fatigued, in 
order that we might be in readiness to set out on our 
expedition at daylight on the following morning. 


CHAPTER V 


Prepare for a journey round the island — Mysterious 
appearances and startling occurrences — Make dis¬ 
covery of many excellent roots and fruits — Resources 
unfolded — The banyan tree — Water-fowl found — A 
very peculiar murder. 

S CARCELY had the sun shot its first ray across the 
bosom of the broad Pacific, when Jack sprang to his 
feet, and, hallooing in Peterkin’s ear to awaken him, ran 
down the beach to take his customary dip in the sea. 
We did not, as was our wont, bathe that morning in our 
Water Garden, but, in order to save time, refreshed our¬ 
selves in the shallow water just opposite the bower. Our 
breakfast was also despatched without loss of time, and in 
less than an hour afterwards all our preparations for the 
journey were completed. 

In addition to his ordinary dress, Jack tied a belt of 
cocoa-nut cloth round his waist, into which he thrust the 
axe. I was also advised to put on a belt and carry a 
short cudgel or bludgeon in it; for, as Jack truly remarked, 
the sling would be of little use if we should chance to 
come to close quarters with any wild animal. As for 
Peterkin, notwithstanding that he carried such a long, 
and I must add, frightful-looking spear over his shoulder, 
we could not prevail on him to leave his club behind; 
“ for,” said he, “ a spear at close quarters is not worth a 


Coral Island 


75 


button.” I must say that it seemed to me that the club 
was, to use his own style of language, not worth a button¬ 
hole; for it was all knotted over at the head, something 
like the club which I remember to have observed in 
picture-books of Jack the Giant Killer, besides being so 
heavy that he required to grasp it with both hands in 
order to wield it at all. However, he took it with him, 
and in this manner we set out upon our travels. 

We did not consider it necessary to carry any food 
with us, as we knew that wherever we went we should be 
certain to fall in with cocoa-nut trees; having which we 
were amply supplied, as Peterkin said, with meat and 
drink and pocket-handkerchiefs! I took the precaution, 
however, to put the burning-glass into my pocket lest we 
should want fire. 

The morning was exceedingly lovely. It was one of 
that very still and peaceful sort which made the few 
noises that we heard seem to be quiet noises. I know no 
other way of expressing this idea. Noises which, so far 
from interrupting the universal tranquility of earth, sea, 
and sky, rather tended to reveal to us how quiet the 
world round us really was. Such sounds as I refer to 
were, the peculiar melancholy — yet, it seemed to me, 
cheerful — plaint of sea-birds floating on the glassy waters 
or sailing in the sky, also the subdued twittering of little 
birds among the bushes, the faint ripples on the beach, 
and the solemn boom of the surf upon the distant coral 
reef. We felt very glad in our hearts as we walked along 
the sands side by side. For my part, I felt so deeply 
overjoyed that I was surprised at my own sensations, and 


76 


Coral Island 


fell into a reverie upon the causes of happiness. I came 
to the conclusion that a state of profound peace and 
repose, both in regard to outward objects and within the 
soul, is the happiest condition in which man can be 
placed; for although I had many a time been most joyful 
and happy when engaged in bustling, energetic, active 
pursuits or amusements, I never found that such joy or 
satisfaction was so deep or so pleasant to reflect upon as 
that which I now experienced. And I was the more con¬ 
firmed in this opinion when I observed, and indeed was 
told by himself, that Peterkin’s happiness was also very 
great; yet he did not express this by dancing as was his 
wont, nor did he give so much as a single shout, but 
walked quietly between us with his eye sparkling, and a 
joyful smile upon his countenance. 

I have said that Peterkin walked along the sands 
between us. We had two ways of walking together about 
our island. When we travelled through the woods, we 
always did so in single file, as by this- method we advanced 
with greater facility, the one treading in the other’s foot¬ 
steps. In such cases Jack always took the lead, Peterkin 
followed, and I brought up the rear. But when we 
travelled along the sands, which extended almost in an 
unbroken line of glistening white round the island, we 
marched abreast, as we found this method more sociable, 
and every way more pleasant. 

We were now fairly started. Half a mile’s walk con¬ 
veyed us round a bend in the land which shut out our 
bower from view, and for some time we advanced at a 
brisk pace without speaking, though our eyes were not 


Coral Island 


77 


idle, but noted everything, in the woods, on the shore, or 
in the sea, that was interesting. After passing the ridge 
of land that formed one side of our valley — the Valley of 
the Wreck — we beheld another small vale lying before us 
in all the luxuriant loveliness of tropical vegetation. We 
were about to commence the exploration of this valley, 
when Peterkin stopped us, and directed our attention to 
a very remarkable appearance in advance along the shore. 

“ What’s yon, think you? ” said he, levelling his spear, 
as if he expected an immediate attack from the object in 
question. 

As he spoke, there appeared a white column above the 
rocks, as if of steam or spray. It rose upwards to a 
height of several feet, and then disappeared. Had this 
been near the sea, we would not have been so greatly sur¬ 
prised, as it might in that case have been the surf, for at 
this part of the coast the coral reef approached so near to 
the island that in some parts it almost joined it. There 
was therefore no lagoon between, and the heavy surf of 
the ocean beat almost up to the rocks. But this white 
column appeared about fifty yards inland. The rocks at 
the place were rugged, and they stretched across the sandy 
beach into the sea. Scarce had we ceased expressing our 
surprise at this sight, when another column flew upwards 
for a few seconds, not far from the spot where the first had 
been seen, and disappeared; and so, at long, irregular 
intervals, these strange sights recurred. We were now 
quite sure that the columns were watery or composed of 
spray, but what caused them we could not guess, so we 
determined to go and see. 


78 


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In a few minutes we gained the spot, which was very 
rugged and precipitous, and, moreover, quite damp with 
the falling of the spray. We had much ado to pass over 
dry-shod. The ground also was full of holes here and 
there. Now, while we stood anxiously waiting for the 
reappearance of these water-spouts, we heard a low, rum¬ 
bling sound near us, which quickly increased to a gurgling 
and hissing noise, and a moment afterwards a thick spout 
of water burst upwards from a hole in the rock, and 
spouted into the air with much violence, and so close to 
where Jack and I were standing that it nearly touched 
us. We sprang aside, but not before a cloud of spray 
descended, and drenched us both to the skin. 

Peterkin, who was standing farther off, escaped with a 
few drops, and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter 
on beholding our miserable plight. 

“Mind your eye!” he shouted eagerly, “there goes 
another! ” The words were scarcely out of his mouth 
when there came up a spout from another hole, which 
served us exactly in the same manner as before. 

Peterkin now shrieked with laughter; but his merri¬ 
ment was abruptly put a stop to by the gurgling noise 
occurring close to where he stood. 

“ Where’ll it spout this time, I wonder? ” he said, look¬ 
ing about with some anxiety, and preparing to run. Sud¬ 
denly there came a loud hiss or snort; a fierce spout of 
water burst up between Peterkin’s legs, blew him off his 
feet, enveloped him in its spray, and hurled him to the 
ground. He fell with so much violence that we feared he 
must have broken some of his bones, and ran anxiously to 


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his assistance; but fortunately he had fallen on a clump 
of tangled herbage, in which he lay sprawling in a most 
deplorable condition. 

It was now our turn to laugh; but as we were not yet 
quite sure that he was unhurt, and as we knew not when 
or where the next spout might arise, we assisted him 
hastily to jump up and hurry from the spot. 

I may here add that, although I am quite certain that 
the spout of water was very strong, and that it blew 
Peterkin completely off his legs, I am not quite certain 
of the exact height to which it lifted him, being some¬ 
what startled by the event, and blinded partially by the 
spray, so that my power of observation was somewhat 
impaired for the moment. 

“ What’s to be done now? ” asked Peterkin ruefully. 

“ Make a fire and dry ourselves,” replied Jack. 

“ And here is material ready to our hand,” said I, 
picking up a dried branch of a tree, as we hurried up to 
the woods. 

In about an hour after this mishap our clothes were 
again dried. While they were hanging up before the 
fire, we walked down to the beach, and soon observed 
that these curious spouts took place immediately after 
the fall of a huge wave, never before it; and, moreover, 
that the spouts did not take place excepting when the 
billow was an extremely large one. From this we con¬ 
cluded that there must be a subterraneous channel in the 
rock into which the water was driven by the larger waves, 
and finding no way of escape except through these small 
holes, was thus forced up violently through them. At any 


80 


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rate, we could not conceive any other reason for these 
strange water-spouts, and as this seemed a very simple 
and probable one, we forthwith adopted it. 

“ I say, Ralph, what’s that in the water; is it a shark? ” 
said Jack, just as we were about to quit the place. 

I immediately ran to the overhanging ledge of rock, from 
which he was looking down into the sea, and bent over it. 
There I saw a very faint pale object of a greenish colour, 
which seemed to move slightly while I looked at it. 

“ It’s like a fish of some sort,” said I. 

“Hallo, Peterkin! ” cried Jack, “fetch your spear; 
here’s work for it.” 

But when we tried to reach the object, the spear proved 
to be too short. 

“ There now,” said Peterkin with a sneer, “ you were 
always telling me it was too long.” 

Jack now drove the spear forcibly towards the object, 
and let go his hold; but although it seemed to be well 
aimed, he must have missed, for the handle soon rose 
again; and when the spear was drawn up, there was the 
pale green object in exactly the same spot, slowly moving 
its tail. 

“ Very odd,” said Jack. 

But although it was undoubtedly very odd, and although 
Jack and all of us plunged the spear at it repeatedly, we 
could neither hit it nor drive it away, so we were compelled 
to continue our journey without discovering what it was. 
I was very much perplexed at this strange appearance in 
the water, and could not get it out of my mind for a 
long time afterwards. However, I quieted myself by re- 


Coral Island 


81 


solving that I would pay a visit to it again at some more 
convenient season. 

Our examination of the little valley proved to be al¬ 
together most satisfactory. We found in it not only 
similar trees to those we had already seen in our own 
valley, but also one or two others of a different species. 
We had also the satisfaction of discovering a peculiar 
vegetable, which Jack concluded must certainly be that 
of which he had read as being very common among the 
South Sea islanders, and which was named taro . Also we 
found a large supply of yams, and another root like a 
potato in appearance. As these were all quite new to us, 
we regarded our lot as a most fortunate one, in being thus 
cast on an island which was so prolific and so well stored 
with all the necessaries of life. Long afterwards we found 
out that this island of ours was no better in these respects 
than thousands of other islands in those seas. Indeed, 
many of them were much richer and more productive; but 
that did not render us the less grateful for our present 
good fortune. We each put one of these roots in our 
pocket, intending to use them for our supper; of which 
more hereafter. We also saw many beautiful birds here, 
and traces of some four-footed animal again. Meanwhile 
the sun began to descend, so we returned to the shore, 
and pushed on round the spouting rocks into the next 
valley. This was that valley of which I have spoken as 
running across the entire island. It was by far the largest 
and most beautiful that we had yet looked upon. Here 
were trees of every shape and size and hue which it is 
possible to conceive of, many of which we had not seen in 


82 


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the other valleys; for, the stream in this valley being 
larger, and the mould much richer than in the Valley of 
the Wreck, it was clothed with a more luxuriant growth 
of trees and plants. Some trees were dark glossy green, 
others of a rich and warm hue, contrasting well with those 
of a pale light green, which were everywhere abundant. 
Among these we recognised the broad dark heads of the 
bread-fruit, with its golden fruit; the pure, silvery foliage 
of the candle-nut, and several species which bore a strong 
resemblance to the pine; while here and there, in groups 
and in single trees, rose the tall forms of the cocoa-nut 
palms, spreading abroad, and waving their graceful plumes 
high above all the rest, as if they were a superior race of 
stately giants keeping guard over these luxuriant forests. 
Oh, it was a most enchanting scene, and I thanked God 
for having created such delightful spots for the use of 
man. 

Now, while we were gazing around us in silent admira¬ 
tion, Jack uttered an exclamation of surprise, and pointing 
to an object a little to one side of us, said — 

“ That’s a banyan tree.” 

“ And what’s a banyan tree? ” inquired Peterkin, as we 
walked towards it. 

“ A very curious one, as you shall see presently,” replied 
Jack. “ It is called the aoa here, if I recollect rightly, 
and has a wonderful peculiarity about it. What an 
enormous one it is, to be sure! ” 

“ It! ” repeated Peterkin; “ why, there are dozens of 
banyans here! What do you mean by talking bad 
grammar? Is your philosophy deserting you, Jack? ” 


Coral Island 


83 


“ There is but one tree here of this kind,” returned 
Jack, “ as you will perceive if you will examine it.” And, 
sure enough, we did find that what we had supposed was 
a forest of trees was in reality only one. Its bark was of 
a light colour, and had a shining appearance, the leaves 
being lance-shaped, small, and of a beautiful pea-green. 
But the wonderful thing about it was, that the branches, 
which grew out from the stem horizontally, sent down 
long shoots or fibres to the ground, which, taking root, 
had themselves become trees, and were covered with bark 
like the tree itself. Many of these fibres had descended 
from the branches at various distances, and thus supported 
them on natural pillars, some of which were so large and 
strong that it was not easy at first to distinguish the 
offspring from the parent stem. The fibres were of all 
sizes and in all states of advancement, from the pillars we 
have just mentioned to small cords which hung down and 
were about to take root, and thin brown threads still far 
from the ground, which swayed about with every motion 
of wind. In short, it seemed to us that, if there were only 
space afforded to it, this single tree would at length cover 
the whole island. 

Shortly after this we came upon another remarkable 
tree, which, as its peculiar formation afterwards proved 
extremely useful to us, merits description. It was a 
splendid chestnut, but its proper name Jack did not 
know. However, there were quantities of fine nuts upon 
it, some of which we put in our pockets. But its stem was 
the most wonderful part of it. It rose to about twelve 
feet without a branch, and was not of great thickness: on 


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the contrary, it was remarkably slender for the size of the 
tree; but, to make up for this, there were four or five 
wonderful projections in this stem, which I cannot better 
describe than by asking the reader to suppose that five 
planks of two inches thick and three feet broad had been 
placed round the trunk of the tree, with their edges 
closely fixed to it, from the ground up to the branches, 
and that these planks had been covered over with the 
bark of the tree and incorporated with it. In short, 
they were just natural buttresses, without which the stem 
could not have supported its heavy and umbrageous top. 
We found these chestnuts to be very numerous. They 
grew chiefly on the banks of the stream, and were of all 
sizes. 

While we were examining a small tree of this kind, Jack 
chipped a piece off a buttress with his axe, and found the 
wood to be firm and easily cut. He then struck the axe 
into it with all his force, and very soon split it off close to 
the tree, first, however, having cut it across transversely 
above and below. By this means he satisfied himself that 
we could now obtain short planks, as it were all ready 
sawn, of any size and thickness that we desired; which 
was a very great discovery indeed, perhaps the most im¬ 
portant we had yet made. 

We now wended our way back to the coast, intending 
to encamp near the beach, as we found that the mos¬ 
quitoes were troublesome in the forest. On our way we 
could not help admiring the birds which flew and chirped 
around us. Among them we observed a pretty kind of 
paroquet, with a green body, a blue head, and a red 


Coral Island 


85 


breast; also a few beautiful turtle-doves, and several flocks 
of wood-pigeons. The hues of many of these birds were 
extremely vivid — bright green, blue, and scarlet being the 
prevailing tints. We made several attempts throughout 
the day to bring down one of these, both with the bow 
and the sling — not for mere sport, but to ascertain 
whether they were good for food. But we invariably 
missed, although once or twice we were very near hi+ting. 
As evening drew on, however, a flock of pigeons flew past. 
I slung a stone into the midst of them at a venture, and 
had the good fortune to kill one. We were startled, soon 
after, by a loud whistling noise above our heads; and on 
looking up, saw a flock of wild-ducks making for the 
coast. We watched these, and observing where they 
alighted, followed them up until we came upon a most 
lovely blue lake, not more than two hundred yards long, 
embosomed in verdant trees. Its placid surface, which 
reflected every leaf and stem as if in a mirror, was covered 
with various species of wild ducks, feeding among the 
sedges and broad-leaved water-plants which floated on it, 
while numerous birds like water-hens ran to and fro most 
busily on its margin. These all with one accord flew 
tumultuously away the instant we made our appearance. 
While walking along the margin we observed fish in the 
water, but of what sort we could not tell. 

Now, as we neared the shore, Jack and I said we would 
go a little out of our way to see if we could procure one 
of those ducks; so, directing Peterkin to go straight to the 
shore and kindle a fire, we separated, promising to rejoin 
him speedily. But we did not find the ducks, although 


86 


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we made a diligent search for half-an-hour. We were 
about to retrace our steps, when we were arrested by one 
of the strangest sights that we had yet beheld. 

Just in front of us, at the distance of about ten yards, 
grew a superb tree, which certainly was the largest we had 
yet seen on the island. Its trunk was at least five feet in 
diameter, with a smooth grey bark; above this the spread¬ 
ing branches were clothed with light green leaves, amid 
which were clusters of bright yellow fruit, so numerous as 
to weigh down the boughs with their great weight. This 
fruit seemed to be of the plum species, of an oblong form, 
and a good deal larger than the magnum-bonum plum. 
The ground at the foot of this tree was thickly strewn 
with the fallen fruit, in the midst of which lay sleeping, in 
every possible attitude, at least twenty hogs of all 
ages and sizes, apparently quite surfeited with a recent 
banquet. 

Jack and I could scarce restrain our laughter as we 
gazed at these coarse, fat, ill-looking animals while they 
lay groaning and snoring heavily amid the remains of 
their supper. 

“ Now, Ralph,” said Jack, in a low whisper, “ put a 
stone in your sling — a good big one — and let fly at that 
fat fellow with his back toward you. I’ll try to put an 
arrow into yon little pig.” 

“ Don’t you think we had better put them up first? ” 
I whispered; “ it seems cruel to kill them while asleep.” 

“ If I wanted sport , Ralph, I would certainly set them 
up; but as we only want pork, we’ll let them lie. Besides, 
we’re not sure of killing them; so, fire away.” 


Coral Island 


87 


Thus admonished, I slung my stone with so good aim 
that it went bang against the hog’s flank as if against the 
head of a drum; but it had no other effect than that of 
causing the animal to start to its feet, with a frightful 
yell of surprise, and scamper away. At the same instant 
Jack’s bow twanged, and the arrow pinned the little pig 
to the ground by the ear. 

“ I’ve missed, after all,” cried Jack, darting forward 
with uplifted axe, while the little pig uttered a loud 
squeal, tore the arrow from the ground, and ran away 
with it, along with the whole drove, into the bushes and 
disappeared, though we heard them screaming long after¬ 
wards in the distance. 

“ That’s very provoking, now,” said Jack, rubbing the 
point of his nose. 

“ Very,” I replied, stroking my chin. 

“ Well, we must make haste and rejoin Peterkin,” said 
Jack. “ It’s getting late.” And without further remark 
we threaded our way quickly through the woods towards 
the shore. 

When we reached it, we found wood laid out, the fire 
lighted and beginning to kindle up, with other signs of 
preparation for our encampment, but Peterkin was no¬ 
where to be found. We wondered very much at this; 
but Jack suggested that he might have gone to fetch 
water; so he gave a shout to let him know that we had 
arrived, and sat down upon a rock, while I threw off my 
jacket, and seized the axe, intending to split up one or 
two billets of wood. But I had scarce moved from the 
spot when, in the distance, we heard a most appalling 


88 


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shriek, which was followed up by a chorus of yells from 
the hogs, and a loud hurrah. 

“I do believe,” said I, “ that Peterkin has met with 
the hogs.” 

“ When Greek meets Greek,” said Jack, soliloquising, 
“ then comes the tug of-” 

“ Hurrah! ” shouted Peterkin in the distance. 

We turned hastily towards the direction whence the 
sound came, and soon descried Peterkin walking along the 
beach towards us with a little pig transfixed on the end 
of his long spear! 

“ Well done, my boy! ” exclaimed Jack, slapping him 
on the shoulder when he came up; “ you’re the best shot 
amongst us.” 

“Look here, Jack! ” cried Peterkin, as he disengaged 
the animal from his spear. “ Do you recognise that 
hole? ” said he, pointing to the pig’s ear; “ and are you 
familiar with this arrow, eh? ” 

“ Well, I declare! ” said Jack. 

“ Of course you do,” interrupted Peterkin; “ but, 
restrain your declarations at this time, and let’s have 
supper, for I’m uncommonly hungry, I can tell you; and 
it’s no joke to charge a whole herd of swine with their 
great-grandmother bristling like a giant porcupine at the 
head of them! ” 

We now set about preparing supper; and, truly a good 
display of viands we made, when all was laid out on a flat 
rock in the light of the blazing fire. There was, first of 
all, the little pig; then there were the taro-root, and the 
yam, and the potato, and six plums; and, lastly, the 


Coral Island 


89 


wood-pigeon. To these Peterkin added a bit of sugar¬ 
cane, which he had cut from a little patch of that plant 
which he had found not long after separating from us; 
“ and,” said he, “ the patch was somewhat in a square 
form, which convinces me it must have been planted by 
man.” 

“ Very likely,” replied Jack. “ From all we have seen. 
I’m inclined to think that some of the savages must have 
dwelt here long ago.” 

We found no small difficulty in making up our minds 
how we were to cook the pig. None of us had ever cut up 
one before, and we did not know exactly how to begin; 
besides, we had nothing but the axe to do it with, our knife 
having been forgotten. At last Jack started up and 
said — 

“ Don’t let us -waste more time talking about it, boys. — 
Hold it up, Peterkin. There, lay the hind-leg on this 
block of wood — so; ” and he cut it off, with a large por¬ 
tion of the haunch, at a single blow of the axe. “ Now 
the other — that’s it.” And having thus cut off the two 
hind-legs, he made several deep gashes in them, thrust a 
sharp-pointed stick through each, and stuck them up 
before the blaze to roast. The wood-pigeon was then 
split open, quite flat, washed clean in salt water, and 
treated in a similar manner. While these were cooking 
we scraped a hole in the sand and ashes under the fire, 
into which we put our vegetables, and covered them up. 

The taro-root was of an oval shape, about ten inches 
long and four or five thick. It was of a mottled-grey 
colour, and had a thick rind. We found it somewhat like 


90 


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an Irish potato, and exceedingly good. The yam was 
roundish, and had a rough brown skin. It was very sweet 
and well flavoured. The potato, we were surprised to find, 
was quite sweet and exceedingly palatable, as also were the 
plums; and, indeed, the pork and pigeon too, when we 
came to taste them. Altogether this was decidedly the 
most luxurious supper we had enjoyed for many a day; 
and Jack said it was out-of-sight better than we ever got 
on board ship; and Peterkin said he feared that if we 
should remain long on the island he would infallibly be¬ 
come a glutton or an epicure: whereat Jack remarked that 
he need not fear that, for he was both already! And so, 
having eaten our fill, not forgetting to finish off with a 
plum, we laid ourselves comfortably down to sleep upon a 
couch of branches, under the overhanging ledge of a coral 
rock. 


CHAPTER VI 


Mysterious footsteps — Strange discoveries and sad sights — 
Wonderful behaviour of a crab — Jack commences to 
build a little boat. 

W HEN we awoke on the following morning, we found 
that the sun was already a good way above the 
horizon, so I came to the conclusion that a heavy supper 
is not conducive to early rising. 

We had not advanced on our journey much above a 
mile or so, and were just beginning to feel the pleasant 
glow that usually accompanies vigorous exercise, when, on 
turning a point that revealed to us a new and beautiful 
cluster of islands, we were suddenly arrested by the appal¬ 
ling cry which had so alarmed us a few nights before. 

On hearing the sound, Peterkin instantly threw for¬ 
ward his spear. 

“ Now, what can it be? ” said he, looking around at 
Jack. “ I tell you what it is: if we are to go on being 
pulled up in a constant state of horror and astonishment, 
as we have been for the last week, the sooner we’re out 
o’ this island the better, notwithstanding the yams and 
lemonade, and pork and plums! ” 

Peterkin’s remark was followed by a repetition of the 
cry, louder than before. 

“ It comes from one of these islands,” said Jack. 


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“ It must be the ghost of a jackass, then,” said Peterkin, 
“for I never heard anything so like.” 

We all turned our eyes towards the cluster of islands, 
where, on the largest, we observed curious objects moving 
on the shore. 

“Soldiers they are — that’s flat!” cried Peterkin, 
gazing at them in the utmost amazement. 

And, in truth, Peterkin’s remark seemed to me to be 
correct; for, at the distance from which we saw them, 
they appeared to be an army of soldiers. There they 
stood, rank and file, in lines and in squares, marching 
and countermarching, with blue coats and white trousers. 
While we were looking at them, the dreadful cry came 
again over the water, and Peterkin suggested that it must 
be a regiment sent out to massacre the natives in cold 
blood; At this remark Jack laughed and said — 

“ Why, Peterkin, they are penguins! ” 

“ Penguins? ” repeated Peterkin. 

“ Ay, penguins, Peterkin, penguins — nothing more 
or less than big sea-birds, as you shall see one of these 
days, when we pay them a visit in our boat, which I mean 
to set about building the moment we return to our bower.” 

“ So, then, our dreadful yelling ghosts and our murder¬ 
ing army of soldiers,” remarked Peterkin, “ have dwindled 
down to penguins — big sea-birds! Very good. Then I 
propose that we continue our journey as fast as possible, 
lest our island should be converted into a dream before 
we get completely round it.” 

The second night we passed in a manner somewhat 
similar to the first, at about two-thirds of the way round 


Coral Island 


93 


the island, as we calculated, and we hoped to sleep on the 
night following at our bower. I will not here note so 
particularly all that we said and saw during the course 
of this second day, as we did not make any further dis¬ 
coveries of great importance. The shore along which we 
travelled, and the various parts of the woods through 
which we passed, were similar to those which have been 
already treated of. There were one or two observations 
that we made, however, and these were as follows: — 
We saw that, while many of the large fruit-bearing 
trees grew only in the valleys, and some of them only near 
the banks of the streams, where the soil was peculiarly 
rich, the cocoa-nut palm grew in every place whatsoever; 
not only on the hillsides, but also on the seashore, and 
even, as has been already stated, on the coral reef itself, 
where the soil, if we may use the name, was nothing better 
than loose sand mingled with broken shells and coral 
rock. So near to the sea, too, did this useful tree grow, 
that in many places its roots were washed by the spray 
from the breakers. Yet we found the trees growing thus 
on the sands to be quite as luxuriant as those growing in 
the valleys, and the fruit as good and refreshing also. 
Besides this, I noticed that on the summit of the high 
mountain, which we once more ascended at a different 
point from our first ascent, were found abundance of 
shells and broken coral formations; which Jack and I 
agreed proved either that this island must have once been 
under the sea, or that the sea must once have been above 
the island. Our thoughts and conversations on this sub¬ 
ject were sometimes so profound that Peterkin said we 


94 


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should certainly get drowned in them at last, even although 
we were such good divers! 

We found several more droves of hogs in the woods, 
but abstained from killing any of them, having more 
than sufficient for our present necessities. We saw also 
many of their footprints in this neighbourhood. Among 
these we also observed the footprints of a smaller animal, 
which we examined with much care, but could form no 
certain opinion as to them. Peterkin thought they were 
those of a little dog, but Jack and I thought differently. 
We became very curious on this matter, the more so that 
we observed these footprints to lie scattered about in one 
locality, as if the animal which had made them was wan¬ 
dering round about in a very irregular manner, and with¬ 
out any object in view. Early in the forenoon of our 
third day we observed these footprints to be much more 
numerous than ever, and in one particular spot they 
diverged off into the woods in a regular beaten track, 
which was, however, so closely beset with bushes that we 
pushed through it with difficulty. We had now become 
so anxious to find out what animal this was and where 
it went to, that we determined to follow the track, and, 
if possible, clear up the mystery. Peterkin said, in a 
bantering tone, that he was sure it would be cleared up, 
as usual, in some frightfully simple way, and prove to be 
no mystery at all! 

The beaten track seemed much too large to have been 
formed by the animal itself, and we concluded that some 
larger animal had made it, and that the smaller one made 
use of it. But everywhere the creeping plants and tangled 


Coral Island 


95 


bushes crossed our path, so that we forced our way along 
with some difficulty. Suddenly, as we came upon an open 
space, we heard a faint cry, and observed a black animal 
standing in the track before us. 

“ A wild-cat! ” cried Jack, fitting an arrow to his bow, 
and discharging it so hastily that he missed the animal, 
and hit the earth about half a foot to one side of it. To 
our surprise the wild-cat did not fly, but walked slowly 
towards the arrow, and snuffed at it. 

“ That’s the most comical wild-cat I ever saw! ” cried 
Jack. 

“ It’s a tame wild-cat, I think,” said Peterkin, levelling 
his spear to make a charge. 

“ Stop! ” cried I, laying my hand on his shoulder; “ I 
do believe the poor beast is blind. See, it strikes against 
the branches as it walks along. It must be a very old 
one; ” and I hastened towards it. 

“ Only think,” said Peterkin, with a suppressed laugh, 
“ of a superannuated wild-cat! ” 

We now found that the poor cat was not only blind, 
or nearly so, but extremely deaf, as it did not hear our 
footsteps until we were quite close behind it. Then it 
sprang round, and putting up its back and tail, while the 
black hair stood all on end, uttered a hoarse mew and 
a fuff. 

“ Poor thing,” said Peterkin, gently extending his hand, 
and endeavouring to pat the cat’s head. “ Poor pussy; 
chee, chee, chee; puss, puss, puss; cheetie pussy! ” 

No sooner did the cat hear these sounds than all signs 
of anger fled, and advancing eagerly to Peterkin, it allowed 


96 


Coral Island 


itself to be stroked, and rubbed itself against his legs, 
purring loudly all the time, and showing every symptom 
of the most extreme delight. 

“ It’s no more a wild-cat than I am! ” cried Peterkin, 
taking it in his arms; “it’s quite tame. — Poor pussy, 
cheetie pussy! ” 

We now crowded around Peterkin, and were not a little 
surprised, and, to say truth, a good deal affected, by the 
sight of the poor animal’s excessive joy. It rubbed its 
head against Peterkin’s cheek, licked his chin, and thrust 
its head almost violently into his neck, while it purred 
more loudly than I ever heard a cat purr before, and 
appeared to be so much overpowered by its feelings, that 
it occasionally mewed and purred almost in the same 
breath. Such demonstrations of joy and affection led us 
at once to conclude that this poor cat must have known 
man before, and we conjectured that it had been left 
either accidentally or by design on the island many years 
ago, and was now evincing its extreme joy at meeting once 
more with human beings. While we were fondling the 
cat and talking about it. Jack glanced round the open 
space in the midst of which we stood. 

“ Hallo! ” exclaimed he, “ this looks something like a 
clearing. The axe has been at work here. Just look at 
these tree-stumps.” 

We now turned to examine these, and without doubt 
we found trees that had been cut down here and there, 
also stumps and broken branches; all of which, however, 
were completely covered over with moss, and bore evidence 
of having been in this condition for some years. No 


Coral Island 


97 


human footprints were to be seen either on the track or 
among the bushes, but those of the cat were found every¬ 
where. We now determined to follow up the track as far 
as it went, and Peterkin put the cat down; but it seemed 
to be so weak, and mewed so very pitifully, that he took 
it up again and carried it in his arms, where in a few 
minutes it fell sound asleep. 

About ten yards farther on, the felled trees became 
more numerous, and the track, diverging to the right, 
followed for a short space the banks of a stream. Sud¬ 
denly we came to a spot where once must have been a 
rude bridge, the stones of which were scattered in the 
stream, and those on each bank entirely covered over with 
moss. In silent surprise and expectancy we continued to 
advance, and, a few yards farther on, beheld, under the 
shelter of some bread-fruit trees, a small hut or cottage. 
I cannot hope to convey to my readers a very correct 
idea of the feelings that affected us on witnessing this 
unexpected sight. We stood for a long time in silent 
wonder, for there was a deep and most melancholy still¬ 
ness about the place that quite overpowered us; and when 
we did at length speak, it was in subdued whispers, as 
if we were surrounded by some awful or supernatural 
influence. Even Peterkin’s voice, usually so quick and 
lively on all occasions, was hushed now; for there was a 
dreariness about this silent, lonely, uninhabited cottage — 
so strange in its appearance, so far away from the usual 
dwellings of man, so old, decayed, and deserted in its 
aspect — that fell upon our spirits like a thick cloud, and 
blotted out as with a pall the cheerful sunshine that had 


98 Coral Island 

filled us since the commencement of our tour round the 
island. 

The hut or cottage was rude and simple in its construc¬ 
tion. It was not more than twelve feet long by ten feet 
broad, and about seven or eight feet high. It had one 
window, or rather a small frame in which a window might 
perhaps once have been, but which was now empty. The 
door was exceedingly low, and formed of rough boards, 
and the roof was covered with broad cocoa-nut and plan¬ 
tain leaves. But every part of it was in a state of the 
utmost decay. Moss and green matter grew in spots all 
over it. The woodwork was quite perforated with holes; 
the roof had nearly fallen in, and appeared to be pre¬ 
vented from doing so altogether by the thick matting of 
creeping-plants and the interlaced branches which years 
of neglect had allowed to cover it almost entirely; while 
the thick, luxuriant branches of the bread-fruit and other 
trees spread above it, and flung a deep, sombre shadow 
over the spot, as if to guard it from the heat and the light 
of day. We conversed long and in whispers about this 
strange habitation ere we ventured to approach it; and 
when at length we did so, it was, at least on my part, with 
feelings of awe. 

At first Jack endeavoured to peep in at the window, 
but from the deep shadow of the trees already mentioned, 
and the gloom within, he could not clearly discern objects; 
so we lifted the latch and pushed open the door. We 
observed that the latch was made of iron, and almost 
eaten away with rust. In the like condition were also 
the hinges, which creaked as the door swung back. On 


Coral Island 


99 


entering, we stood still and gazed around us, while we 
were much impressed with the dreary stillness of the 
room. But what we saw there surprised and shocked us 
not a little. There was no furniture in the apartment 
save a little wooden stool and an iron pot, the latter 
almost eaten through with rust. In the corner farthest 
from the door was a low bedstead, on which lay two 
skeletons, embedded in a little heap of dry dust. With 
beating hearts we went forward to examine them. One 
was the skeleton of a man, the other that of a dog, which 
was extended close beside that of the man, with its head 
resting on his bosom. 

Now we were very much concerned about this discovery, 
and could scarce retrain from tears on beholding these 
sad remains. After some time we began to talk about 
what we had seen, and to examine in and around the hut, 
in order to discover some clue to the name or history of 
this poor man, who had thus died in solitude, with none 
to mourn his loss save his cat and his faithful dog. But 
we found nothing — neither a book nor a scrap of paper. 
We found, however, the decayed remnants of what 
appeared to have been clothing, and an old axe. But 
none of these things bore marks of any kind; and, indeed, 
they were so much decayed as to convince us that they 
had lain in the condition in which we found them for 
many years. 

This discovery now accounted to us for the tree-stump 
at the top of the mountain with the initials cut on it; 
also for the patch of sugar-cane and other traces of man 
which we had met with in the course of our rambles over 


100 


Coral Island 


the island. And we were much saddened by the reflection 
that the lot of this poor wanderer might possibly be our 
own, after many years’ residence on the island, unless we 
should be rescued by the visit of some vessel or the arrival 
of natives. Having no clue whatever to account for the 
presence of this poor human being in such a lonely spot, 
we fell to conjecturing what could have brought him 
there. I was inclined to think that he must have been a 
shipwrecked sailor, whose vessel had been lost here, and 
all the crew been drowned except himself and his dog and 
cat. But Jack thought it more likely that he had run 
away from his vessel, and had taken the dog and cat to 
keep him company. We were also much occupied in our 
minds with the wonderful difference between the cat and 
the dog. For here we saw that while the one perished 
like a loving friend by its master’s side, with its head 
resting on his bosom, the other had sought to sustain 
itself by prowling abroad in the forest, and had lived in 
solitude to a good old age. However, we did not con¬ 
clude from this that the cat was destitute of affection, 
for we could not forget its emotions on first meeting 
with us; but we saw from this that the dog had a great 
deal more of generous love in its nature than the cat, 
because it not only found it impossible to live after the 
death of its master, but it must needs, when it came to 
die, crawl to his side and rest its head upon his lifeless 
breast. 

While we were thinking on these things, and examin¬ 
ing into everything about the room, we were attracted 
by an exclamation from Peterkin. 


Coral Island 101 

“ I say, Jack,” said he, “ here is something that will be 
of use to us.” 

“ What is it? ” said Jack, hastening across the room. 

“ An old pistol,” replied Peterkin, holding up the 
weapon, which he had just pulled from under a heap of 
broken wood and rubbish that lay in a corner. 

“ That, indeed, might have been useful,” said Jack, 
examining it, “ if we had any powder; but I suspect the 
bow and the sling will prove more serviceable.” 

“ True, I forgot that,” said Peterkin; “ but we may as 
well take it with us, for the flint will serve to strike fire 
with when the sun does not shine.” 

After having spent more than an hour at this place 
without discovering anything of further interest, Peterkin 
took up the old cat, which had lain very contentedly 
asleep on the stool whereon he had placed it, and we 
prepared to take our departure. In leaving the hut, Jack 
stumbled heavily against the doorpost, which was so 
much decayed as to break across, and the whole fabric 
of the hut seemed ready to tumble about our ears. This 
put into our heads that we might as well pull it down, 
and so form a mound over the skeleton. Jack, therefore, 
with his axe, cut down the other doorpost, which, when 
it was done, brought the whole hut in ruins to the ground, 
and thus formed a grave to the bones of the poor recluse 
and his dog. Then we left the spot, having brought away 
the iron pot, the pistol, and the old axe, as they might 
be of much use to us hereafter. 

During the rest of this day we pursued our journey, 
and examined the other end of the large valley, which 


102 


Coral Island 


we found to be so much alike to the parts already de¬ 
scribed, that I shall not recount the particulars of what 
we saw in this place. I may, however, remark that we 
did not quite recover our former cheerful spirits until we 
arrived at our bower, which we did late in the evening, 
and found everything just in the same condition as we 
had left it three days before. 

Rest is sweet as well for the body as for the mind. 
During my long experience, I have found that periods of 
profound rest at certain intervals, in addition to the 
ordinary hours of repose, are necessary to the well-being 
of man. 

Of this rest we stood much in need on our return home, 
and we found it exceedingly sweet when we indulged in it 
after completing the journey just related. It had not, 
indeed, been a very long journey, nevertheless we had 
pursued it so diligently that our frames were not a little 
prostrated. Our minds were also very much exhausted 
in consequence of the many surprises, frequent alarms, 
and much profound thought to which they had been 
subjected; so that when we lay down on the night of 
our return under the shelter of the bower, we fell im¬ 
mediately into very deep repose. 

After this we arose very greatly refreshed, and hastened 
to our Water Garden to enjoy a bath, and to see how did 
the animals which I had placed in the tank. We found 
the garden more charming, pellucid, and inviting than 
ever, and Jack and I plunged into its depth and gam¬ 
bolled among its radiant coral groves, while Peterkin 
wallowed at the surface, and tried occasionally to kick 


Coral Island 


103 


us as we passed below. Having dressed, I then hastened 
to the tank; but what was my surprise and grief to find 
nearly all the animals dead, and the water in a putrid 
condition! I was greatly distressed at this, and wondered 
what could be the cause of it. 

“ Why, you precious humbug,” said Peterkin, coming 
up to me, “ how could you expect it to be otherwise? 
When fishes are accustomed to live in the Pacific Ocean, 
how can you expect them to exist in a hole like that? ” 

“ Indeed, Peterkin,” I replied, “ there seems to be 
truth in what you say. Nevertheless, now I think of it, 
there must be some error in your reasoning; for if I put 
in but a few very small animals, they will bear the same 
proportion to this pond that the millions of fish bear to 
the ocean.” 

“ I say, Jack,” cried Peterkin, waving his hand, “ come 
here, like a good fellow. Ralph is actually talking philos¬ 
ophy. Do come to our assistance, for he’s out o’ sight 
beyond me already! ” 

“ What’s the matter? ” inquired Jack, coming up, while 
he endeavoured to scrub his long hair dry with a towel of 
cocoa-nut cloth. 

I repeated my thoughts to Jack, who, I was happy to 
find, quite agreed with me. “ The best plan,” he said, 
“ will be to put very few animals at first into your tank, 
and add more as you find it will bear them. And look 
here,” he added, pointing to the sides of the tank, which, 
for the space of two inches above the water-level, were 
encrusted with salt, “ you must carry your philosophy a 
little further, Ralph. That water has evaporated so much 


104 


Coral Island 


that it is too salt for anything to live in. You will re¬ 
quire to add fresh water now and then, in order to keep it 
at the same degree of saltness as the sea.” 

“ Very true, Jack; that never struck me before,” said I. 

“ And, now I think of it,” continued Jack, “ it seems 
to me that the surest way of arranging your tank so as 
to get it to keep pure and in good condition, will be to 
imitate the ocean in it. In fact, make it a miniature 
Pacific. I don’t see how you can hope to succeed unless 
you do that.” 

“ Most true,” said I, pondering what my companion 
said. “ But I fear that that w T ill be very difficult.” 

“ Not at all,” cried Jack, rolling his towel up into a ball 
and throwing it into the face of Peterkin, who had been 
grinning and winking at him during the last five minutes 
— “ not at all. Look here. There is water of a certain 
saltness in the sea; well, fill your tank with sea-water, and 
keep it at that saltness by marking the height at which 
the water stands on the sides. When it evaporates a 
little, pour in fresh water from the brook till it comes up 
to the mark, and then it will be right, for the salt does not 
evaporate with the water. Then there’s lots of seaweed 
in the sea; well, go and get one or two bits of seaweed and 
put them into your tank. Of course the weed must be 
alive, and growing to little stones; or you can chip a bit 
off the rocks with the weed sticking to it. Then, if you 
like, you can throw a little sand and gravel into your tank 
and the thing’s complete.” 

“Nay, not quite,” said Peterkin, who had been gravely 
attentive to this off-hand advice — “ not quite; you must 


Coral Island 


105 


first make three little men to dive in it before it can be 
said to be perfect; and that would be rather difficult, I 
fear, for two of them would require to be philosophers. 
But hallo! what’s this? I say, Ralph, look here. There’s 
one o’ your crabs up to something uncommon. It’s per¬ 
forming the most remarkable operation for a crab I ever 
saw — taking off its coat, I do believe, before going to 
bed!” 

We hastily stooped over the tank, and certainly were 
not a little amused at the conduct of one of the crabs 
wdiich still survived its companions. It was one of the 
common small crabs, like to those that are found running 
about everywhere on the coasts of England. While we 
gazed at it, we observed its back to split away from the 
lower part of its body, and out of the gap thus formed 
came a soft lump which moved and writhed unceasingly. 
This lump continued to increase in size until it appeared 
like a bunch of crab’s legs; and, indeed, such it proved in 
a very few minutes to be, for the points of the toes were 
at length extricated from the hole in its back, the legs 
spread out, the body followed, and the crab walked away 
quite entire, even to the points of its nipper-claws, leaving 
a perfectly entire shell behind it, so that, when we looked, 
it seemed as though there were two complete crabs in¬ 
stead of one. 

“Well!” exclaimed Peterkin, drawing a long breath, 
“ I’ve heard of a man jumping out of his skin and sitting 
down in his skeleton in order to cool himself, but I never 
expected to see a crab do it! ” 

We were, in truth, much amazed at this spectacle, and 


106 


Coral Island 


the more so when we observed that the new crab was 
larger than the crab that it came out of. It was also 
quite soft, but by next morning its skin had hardened 
into a good shell. We came thus to know that crabs 
grow in this way, and not by the growing of their shells, 
as we had always thought before we saw this wonderful 
operation. 

Now I considered well the advice which Jack had given 
me about preparing my tank, and the more I thought of 
it the more I came to regard it as very sound and worthy 
of being acted on. So I forthwith put his plan in execu¬ 
tion, and found it to answer excellently well, indeed, much 
beyond my expectation; for I found that, after a little 
experience had taught me the proper proportion of sea¬ 
weed and animals to put into a certain amount of water, 
the tank needed no further attendance; and, moreover, I 
did not require ever afterwards to renew or change the 
sea-water, but only to add a very little fresh water from 
the brook, now and then, as the other evaporated. I 
therefore concluded that if I had been suddenly conveyed, 
along with my tank, into some region where there was no 
salt sea at all, my little sea and my sea-fish would have 
continued to thrive and to prosper notwithstanding. This 
made me greatly to desire that those people in the world 
who live far inland might know of my wonderful tank, 
and, by having materials like to those of which it was 
made conveyed to them, thus be enabled to watch the 
habits of those most mysterious animals that reside in 
the sea, and examine with their own eyes the wonders of 
the great deep. 


Coral Island 


107 


For many days after this, while Peterkin and Jack were 
busily employed in building a little boat out of the curious 
natural planks of the chestnut tree, I spent much of my 
time in examining with the burning-glass the marvellous 
operations that were constantly going on in my tank. 
Here I saw those anemones which cling, like little red, 
yellow, and green blobs of jelly, to the rocks, put forth, as 
it were, a multitude of arms and wait till little fish or 
other small animalcules unwarily touched them, when 
they would instantly seize them, fold arm after arm around 
their victims, and so engulf them in their stomachs. Here 
I saw the ceaseless working of those little coral insects 
whose efforts have encrusted the islands of the Pacific 
with vast rocks and surrounded them with enormous reefs. 
And I observed that many of these insects, though ex¬ 
tremely minute, were very beautiful, coming out of their 
holes in a circle of fine threads, and having the form of a 
shuttlecock. Here I saw curious little barnacles opening 
a hole in their backs and constantly putting out a thin, 
feathery hand, with which, I doubt not, they dragged 
their food into their mouths. Here, also, I saw those 
crabs which have shells only on the front of their bodies, 
but no shell whatever on their remarkably tender tails, 
so that, in order to find a protection to them, they thrust 
them into the empty shells of whelks, or some such fish, 
and when they grow too big for one, change into another. 
But, most curious of all, I saw an aminal which had the 
wonderful power, when it became ill, of casting its stomach 
and its teeth away from it, and getting an entirely new 


108 


Coral Island 


set in the course of a few months! All this I saw, and a 
great deal more, by means of my tank and my burning- 
glass; but I refrain from setting down more particulars 
here, as I have still much to tell of the adventures that 
befell us while we remained on this island. 


CHAPTER VII 


Spouting cliffs — The Diamond Cave — Peterkin’s re¬ 
markable conduct in embracing a little pig and killing 
a big sow. 

C OME, Jack,” cried Peterkin, one morning about 
three weeks after our return from our long excur¬ 
sion, “ let’s be jolly to-day, and do something vigorous. 
I’m quite tired of hammering and bammering, hewing and 
screwing, cutting and butting, at that little boat of ours, 
that seems as hard to build as Noah’s ark. Let us go on 
an excursion to the mountain-top, or have a hunt after 
the wild-ducks, or make a dash at the pigs. I’m quite 
flat — flat as bad ginger-beer — flat as a pancake; in fact, 
I want something to rouse me, to toss me up. Eh! what 
do you say to it? ” 

“ Well,” answered Jack, throwing down the axe with 
which he was just about to proceed towards the boat, 
“ if that’s what you want, I would recommend you to 
make an excursion to the water-spouts. The last one we 
had to do with tossed you up a considerable height; 
perhaps the next will send you higher — who knows? — 
if you’re at all reasonable or moderate in your expecta¬ 
tions ! ” 

“ Jack, my dear boy,” said Peterkin gravely, “ you are 
really becoming too fond of jesting. It’s a thing I don’t 
at all approve of, and if you don’t give it up, I fear that, 
for our mutual good, we shall have to part.” 


110 


Coral Island 


“ Well then, Peterkin,” replied Jack with a smile, 
“ what would you have? ” 

“ Have? ” said Peterkin; “ I would have nothing. I 
didn’t say I wanted to have; I said that I wanted to do.” 

“ By-the-bye,” said I, interrupting their conversation, 
“ I am reminded by this that we have not yet discovered 
the nature of yon curious appearance that we saw near the 
water-spouts, on our journey round the island. Perhaps 
it would be well to go for that purpose.” 

“ Humph! ” ejaculated Peterkin, “ I know the nature 
of it well enough.” 

“ What was it? ” said I. 

“ It was of a mysterious nature to be sure! ” said he, 
with a wave of his hand, while he rose from the log on 
which he had been sitting and buckled on his belt, into 
which he thrust his enormous club. 

“ Well, then, let us away to the water-spouts,” cried 
Jack, going up to the bower for his bow and arrows; 
“ and bring your spear, Peterkin. It may be useful.” 

We now, having made up our minds to examine into 
this matter, sallied forth eagerly in the direction of the 
water-spout rocks, which, as I have before mentioned, were 
not far from our present place of abode. On arriving 
there we hastened down to the edge of the rocks and gazed 
over into the sea, where we observed the pale-green object 
still distinctly visible, moving its tail slowly to and fro in 
the water. 

“ Most remarkable! ” said Jack. 

“ Exceedingly curious! ” said I. 

“ Beats everything! ” said Peterkin. 


Coral Island ‘ 


111 


“ Now, Jack,” he added, “ you made such a poor figure 
in your last attempt to stick that object, that I would 
advise you to let me try it. If it has got a heart at all, 
I’ll engage to send my spear right through the core of it; 
if it hasn’t got a heart, I’ll send it through the spot where 
its heart ought to be.” 

“ Fire away then, my boy,” replied Jack with a laugh. 

Peterkin immediately took the spear, poised it for a 
second or two above his head, then darted it like an arrow 
into the sea. Down it went straight into the centre of the 
green object, passed quite through it, and came up im¬ 
mediately afterwards, pure and unsullied, while the mys¬ 
terious tail moved quietly as before! 

“ Now,” said Peterkin gravely, “ that brute is a heart¬ 
less monster; I’ll have nothing more to do with it.” 

“I’m pretty sure now,” said Jack, “ that it is merely a 
phosphoric light; but I must say, I’m puzzled at its 
staying always in that exact spot.” 

I also was much puzzled, and inclined to think with Jack 
that it must be phosphoric light, of which luminous appear¬ 
ance we had seen much while on our voyage to these seas. 
“ But,” said I, “ there is nothing to hinder us from diving 
down to it, now that we are sure it is not a shark.” 

“ True,” returned Jack, stripping off his clothes; “I’ll 
go down, Ralph, as I’m better at diving than you are. — 
Now then, Peterkin, out o’ the road! ” Jack stepped 
forward, joined his hands above his head, bent over the 
rocks, and plunged into the sea. For a second or two 
the spray caused by his dive hid him from view; then the 
water became still, and we saw him swimming far down in 


112 


Coral Island 


the midst of the green object. Suddenly he sank below 
it, and vanished altogether from our sight! We gazed 
anxiously down at the spot where he had disappeared for 
nearly a minute, expecting every moment to see him rise 
again for breath; but fully a minute passed, and still he 
did not reappear. Two minutes passed! and then a flood 
of alarm rushed in upon my soul, when I considered that, 
during all my acquaintance with him. Jack had never 
stayed under water more than a minute at a time; indeed 
seldom so long. 

“O Peterkin! ” I said, in a voice that trembled with 
increasing anxiety, “ something has happened. It is more 
than three minutes now.” But Peterkin did not answer, 
and I observed that he was gazing down into the water 
with a look of intense fear mingled with anxiety, while his 
face was overspread with a deadly paleness. Suddenly he 
sprang to his feet and rushed about in a frantic state, 
wringing his hands, and exclaiming, “ O Jack, Jack! he 
is gone! It must have been a shark, and he is gone for 
ever! ” 

For the next five minutes I know not what I did; the 
intensity of my feelings almost bereft me of my senses. 
But I was recalled to myself by Peterkin seizing me by 
the shoulders and staring wildly into my face, while he 
exclaimed, “ Ralph! Ralph! perhaps he has only fainted. 
Dive for him, Ralph! ” 

It seemed strange that this did not occur to me sooner. 
In a moment I rushed to the edge of the rocks, and with¬ 
out waiting to throw off my garments, was on the point to 
spring into the waves, when I observed something black 


Coral Island 


113 


rising up through the green object. In another moment 
Jack’s head rose to the surface, and he gave a wild shout, 
flinging back the spray from his locks, as was his wont 
after a dive. Now we were almost as much amazed at 
seeing him reappear, well and strong, as we had been at 
first at his non-appearance; for, to the best of our judg¬ 
ment, he had been nearly ten minutes under water, perhaps 
longer, and it required no exertion of our reason to convince 
us that this was utterly impossible for mortal man to do 
and retain his strength and faculties. It was therefore 
with a feeling akin to superstitious awe that I held down 
my hand and assisted him to clamber up the steep rocks. 
But no such feeling affected Peterkin. No sooner did Jack 
gain the rocks and seat himself on one, panting for breath, 
than he threw his arms around his neck and burst into a 
flood of tears. “ O Jack, Jack! ” said he, “ where were 
you? What kept you so long? ” 

After a few moments Peterkin became composed enough 
to sit still and listen to Jack’s explanation, although he 
could not restrain himself from attempting to wink every 
two minutes at me, in order to express his joy at Jack’s 
safety. I say he attempted to wink, but I am bound to 
add that he did not succeed, for his eyes were so much 
swollen with weeping, that his frequent attempts only 
resulted in a series of violent and altogether idiotical 
contortions of the face, that were very far from expressing 
what he intended. However, I knew what the poor 
fellow meant by it, so I smiled to him in return, and 
endeavoured to make believe that he was winking. 

“ Now, lads,” said Jack, when we were composed 


114 


Coral Island 


enough to listen to him, “ yon green object is not a shark; 
it is a stream of light issuing from a cave in the rocks. 
Just after I made my dive, I observed that this light came 
from the side of the rock above which we are now sitting; 
so I struck out for it, and saw an opening into some place 
or other that appeared to be luminous within. For one in¬ 
stant I paused to think whether I ought to venture. Then 
I made up my mind, and dashed into it. For you see, 
Peterkin, although I take some time to tell this, it hap¬ 
pened in the space of a few seconds, so that I knew I had 
wind enough in me to serve to bring me out o’ the hole and 
up to the surface again. Well, I was just on the point of 
turning — for I began to feel a little uncomfortable in such 
a place — when it seemed to me as if there was a faint light 
right above me. I darted upwards, and found my head 
out of water. This relieved me greatly, for I now felt 
that I could take in air enough to enable me to return the 
way I came. Then it all at once occurred to me that I 
might not be able to find the way out again; but, on glanc¬ 
ing downwards, my mind was put quite at rest by seeing 
the green light below me streaming into the cave, just like 
the light that we had seen streaming out of it, only what 
I now saw was much brighter. 

“ At first I could scarcely see anything as I gazed around 
me, it was so dark; but gradually my eyes became ac¬ 
customed to it, and I found that I was in a huge cave, 
part of the walls of which I observed on each side of me. 
The ceiling just above me was also visible, and I fancied 
that I could perceive beautiful glittering objects there; 
but the farther end of the cave was shrouded in darkness. 


Coral Island 


115 


While I was looking around me in great wonder, it came 
into my head that you two would think I was drowned; so 
I plunged down through the passage again in a great 
hurry, rose to the surface, and — here I am! ” 

When Jack concluded his recital of what he had seen 
in this remarkable cave, I could not rest satisfied till I 
had dived down to see it: which I did, but found it so 
dark, as Jack had said, that I could scarcely see anything. 
When I returned, we had a long conversation about it, 
during which I observed that Peterkin had a most lugu¬ 
brious expression on his countenance. 

“ What’s the matter, Peterkin? ” said I. 

“ The matter? ” he replied. “ It’s all very well for you 
two to be talking away like mermaids about the wonders 
of this cave, but you know I must be content to hear about 
it, while you are enjoying yourselves down there like mad 
dolphins. It’s really too bad.” 

“ I’m very sorry for you, Peterkin, indeed I am,” said 
Jack, “ but we cannot help you. If you would only learn 
to dive-” 

“ Learn to fly, you might as well say! ” retorted Peter¬ 
kin in a very sulky tone. 

“ If you would only consent to keep still,” said I, “ we 
would take you down with us in ten seconds.” 

“Hum!” returned Peterkin; “suppose a salamander 
was to propose to you ‘ only to keep still,’ and he would 
carry you through a blazing fire in a few seconds, what 
would you say? ” 

We both laughed and shook our heads, for it was 
vident that nothing was to be made of Peterkin in the 


116 


Coral Island 


water. But we could not rest satisfied till we had seen 
more of this cave; so, after further consultation, Jack 
and I determined to try if we could take down a torch 
with us, and set fire to it in the cavern. This we found 
to be an undertaking of no small difficulty, but we accom¬ 
plished it at last by the following means: First, we made 
a torch of a very inflammable nature out of the bark of a 
certain tree, which we cut into strips, and, after twistmg, 
cemented together with a kind of resin or gum, which we 
also obtained from another tree; neither of which trees, 
however, was known by name to Jack. This, when pre¬ 
pared, we wrapped up in a great number of plies of cocoa- 
nut cloth, so that we were confident it could not get wet 
during the short time it should be under water. Then we 
took a small piece of the tinder, which we had carefully 
treasured up lest we should require it, as before said, when 
the sun should fail us; also, we rolled up some dry grass 
and a few chips, which, with a little bow and drill, like 
those described before, we made into another bundle, and 
wrapped it up in cocoa-nut cloth. When all was ready, 
we laid aside our garments, with the exception of our 
trousers, which, as we did not know what rough scraping 
against the rocks we might be subjected to, we kept on. 

Then we advanced to the edge of the rocks, Jack carry¬ 
ing one bundle, with the torch, I the other, with the things 
for producing fire. 

“ Now don’t weary for us, Peterkin, should we be gone 
some time,” said Jack; “ we’ll be sure to return in half- 
an-hour at the very latest, however interesting the cave 
should be, that we may relieve your mind.” 


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** Farewell ! 99 said Peterkin, coming up to us with a look 
of deep but pretended solemnity, while he shook hands 
and kissed each of us on the cheek. “Farewell! and 
while you are gone I shall repose my weary limbs under 
the shelter of this bush, and meditate on the change¬ 
fulness of all things earthly, with special reference to the 
forsaken condition of a poor shipwrecked sailor boy! ” So 
saying, Peterkin waved his hand, turned from us, and cast 
himself upon the ground with a look of melancholy res¬ 
ignation, which was so well feigned that I would have 
thought it genuine had he not accompanied it with a 
gentle wink. We both laughed, and springing from the 
rocks together, plunged head first into the sea. 

We gained the interior of the submarine cave without 
difficulty, and, on emerging from the waves, supported 
ourselves for some time by treading water, while we held 
the two bundles above our heads. This we did in order 
to let our eyes become accustomed to the obscurity. 
Then, when we could see sufficiently, we swam to a shelv¬ 
ing rock, and landed in safety. Having wrung the water 
from our trousers, and dried ourselves as well as we could 
under the circumstances, we proceeded to ignite the torch. 
This we accomplished without difficulty in a few minutes; 
and no sooner did it flare up than we were struck dumb 
with the wonderful objects that were revealed to our 
gaze. The roof of the cabin just above us seemed to be 
about ten feet high, but grew higher as it receded into the 
distance, until it was lost in darkness. It seemed to be 
made of coral, and was supported by massive columns of 
the same material. Immense icicles (as they appeared to 


118 


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us) hung from it in various places. These, however, 
were formed not of ice, but of a species of limestone, 
which seemed to flow in a liquid form towards the point 
of each, where it became solid. A good many drops fell, 
however, to the rock below, and these formed little cones, 
which rose to meet the points above. Some of them had 
already met, and thus we saw how the pillars were formed, 
which at first seemed to us as if they had been placed 
there by some human architect to support the roof. As 
we advanced farther in, we saw that the floor was com¬ 
posed of the same material as the pillars; and it presented 
the curious appearance of ripples such as are formed on 
water when gently ruffled by the wind. There were 
several openings on either hand in the walls that seemed 
to lead into other caverns; but, these we did not explore 
at this time. We also observed that the ceiling was 
curiously marked in many places, as if it were the fretwork 
of a noble cathedral; and the walls, as well as the roof, 
sparkled in the light of our torch, and threw back gleams 
and flashes as if they were covered with precious stones. 
Although we proceeded far into this cavern, we did not 
come to the end of it; and we were obliged to return more 
speedily than we would otherwise have done, as our 
torch was nearly expended. We did not observe any 
openings in the roof, or any indications of places whereby 
light might enter; but near the entrance to the cavern 
stood an immense mass of pure white coral rock, which 
caught and threw back the little light that found an en¬ 
trance through the cave’s mouth, and thus produced, we 
conjectured, the pale-green object which had first at- 


Coral Island 


119 


traded our attention. We concluded, also, that the re¬ 
flecting power of this rock was that which gave forth the 
dim light that faintly illumined the first part of the cave. 

Before diving through the passage again we extin¬ 
guished the small piece of our torch that remained, and 
left it in a dry spot; conceiving that we might possibly 
stand in need of it, if at any future time we should chance 
to wet our torch while diving into the cavern. As we 
stood for a few minutes after it was out, waiting till our 
eyes became accustomed to the gloom, we could not help 
remarking the deep, intense stillness and the unutterable 
gloom of all around us; and, as I thought of the stupen¬ 
dous dome above, and the countless gems that had 
sparkled in the torchlight a few minutes before, it came 
into my mind to consider how strange it is that God should 
make such wonderful and exquisitely beautiful works never 
to be seen at all, except, indeed, by chance visitors such 
as ourselves. 

I afterwards found that there were many such caverns 
among the islands of the South Seas, some of them larger 
and more beautiful than the one I have just described. 

“ Now, Ralph, are you ready? ” said Jack, in a low 
voice, that seemed to echo up into the dome above. 

“ Quite ready.” 

“ Come along, then,” said he; and plunging off the 
ledge of the rock into the water, we dived through the 
narrow entrance. In a few seconds we were panting on 
the rocks above, and receiving the congratulations of our 
friend Peterkin. 

It was quite a relief to breathe the pure air and to en- 


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joy the glad sunshine after our long ramble in the Diamond 
Cave, as we named it; for although we did not stay more 
than half-an-hour away, it seemed to us much longer. 
While we were dressing, and during our walk home, we 
did our best to satisfy the curiosity of poor Peterkin, who 
seemed to regret, with lively sincerity, his inability to 
dive. 

There was no help for it, however, so we condoled with 
him as we best could. Had there been any great rise or 
fall in the tide of these seas, we might perhaps have found 
it possible to take him down with us at low water; but as 
the tide never rose or fell more than eighteen inches or 
two feet, this was impossible. 

But to return: after having told all we could to Peterkin 
about the Diamond Cave under Spouting Cliff, as we 
named the locality, we were wending our way rapidly 
homewards, when a grunt and a squeal were borne down 
by the land breeze to our ears. 

“ That’s the ticket! ” was Peterkin’s remarkable excla¬ 
mation, as he started convulsively and levelled his spear. 

“ Hist! ” cried Jack; “ these are your friends, Peterkin. 
They must have come over expressly to pay you a friendly 
visit, for it is the first time we have seen them on this side 
the island.” 

“ Come along! ” cried Peterkin, hurrying towards the 
wood, while Jack and I followed, smiling at his impatience. 

Another grunt and half-a-dozen squeals, much louder 
than before, came down the valley. At this time we were 
just opposite the small vale^which lay between the Valley 
of the Wreck and Spouting Cliff. 


Coral Island 


121 


“ I say, Peterkin,” cried Jack in a hoarse whisper. 

“ Well, what is’t? ” 

“ Stay a bit, man. These grunters are just up there on 
the hillside. If you go and stand with Ralph in the lee 
of yon cliff, I’ll cut round behind and drive them through 
the gorge, so that you’ll have a better chance of picking 
out a good one. Now, mind you pitch into a fat young 
pig, Peterkin,” added Jack, as he sprang into the bushes. 

“ Won’t I, just! ” said Peterkin, licking his lips, as we 
took our station beside the cliff. “ I feel quite a tender 
affection for young pigs in my heart. Perhaps it would 
be more correct to say in my s-” 

“There they come!” cried I, as a terrific yell from 
Jack sent the whole herd screaming down the hill. Now 
Peterkin, being unable to hold back, crept a short way up 
a very steep, grassy mound, in order to get a better view 
of the hogs before they came up; and just as he raised 
his head above its summit, two little pigs, which had out¬ 
run their companions, rushed over the top with the utmost 
precipitation. One of these brushed close past Peterkin’s 
ear; the other, unable to arrest its headlong flight, went, 
as Peterkin himself afterwards expressed it, “ bash ” into 
his arms with a sudden squeal, which was caused more by 
the force of the blow than the will of the animal, and 
both of them rolled violently down to the foot of the 
mound. No sooner was this reached than the little pig 
recovered its feet, tossed up its tail, and fled shrieking 
from the spot. But I slung a large stone after it, which, 
being fortunately well aimed, hit it behind the ear, and 
felled it to the earth. 



122 


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“Capital, Ralph! that’s your sort!” cried Peterkin, 
who, to my surprise, and great relief, had risen to his feet 
apparently unhurt, though much dishevelled. He rushed 
franticly towards the gorge, which the yells of the hogs 
told us they were now approaching. I had made up my 
mind that I would abstain from killing another, as, if 
Peterkin should be successful, two were more than suffi¬ 
cient for our wants at the present time. Suddenly they all 
burst forth — two or three little round ones in advance, 
and an enormous old sow with a drove of hogs at her heels. 

“ Now, Peterkin ” said I, “ there’s a nice little fat one; 
just spear it.” 

But Peterkin did not move; he allowed it to pass un¬ 
harmed. I looked at him in surprise, and saw that his 
lips were compressed and his eyebrows knitted, as if he 
were about to fight with some awful enemy. 

“ What is it? ” I inquired, with some trepidation. 

Suddenly he levelled his spear, darted forward, and, with 
a yell that nearly froze the blood in my veins, stabbed the 
old sow to the heart. Nay, so vigorously was it done that 
the spear went in at one side and came out at the other! 

“ O Peterkin,” said I, going up to him, “ what have you 
done? ” 

“ Done? I’ve killed their great-great-grandmother, 
that’s all,” said he, looking with a somewhat awe-struck 
expression at the transfixed animal. 

“Hallo! what’s this?” said Jack, as he came up. 
“ Why, Peterkin, you must be fond of a tough chop. If 
you mean to eat this old hog, she’ll try your jaws, I war¬ 
rant. What possessed you to stick her , Peterkin? ” 


Coral Island 


123 


“ Why, the fact is, I want a pair of shoes.” 

“ What have your shoes to do with the old hog? ” said 
I, smiling. 

“ My present shoes have certainly nothing to do with 
her,” replied Peterkin; “ nevertheless, she will have a good 
deal to do with my future shoes. The fact is, when I saw 
you floor that pig so neatly, Ralph, it struck me that there 
was little use in killing another. Then I remembered all 
at once that I had long wanted some leather or tough sub¬ 
stance to make shoes of, and this old grandmother seemed 
so tough that I just made up my mind to stick her, and 
you see I’ve done it! ” 

“ That you certainly have, Peterkin,” said Jack, as he 
was examining the transfixed animal. 

We now considered how we were to carry our game 
home, for, although the distance was short, the hog was 
very heavy. At length we hit on the plan of tying its 
four feet together, and passing the spear handle between 
them. Jack took one end on his shoulder, I took the other 
on mine, and Peterkin carried the small pig. 

Thus we returned in triumph to our bower, laden, as 
Peterkin remarked, with the glorious spoils of a noble 
hunt. As he afterwards spoke in similarly glowing terms 
in reference to the supper that followed, there is every 
reason to believe that we retired that night to our leafy 
beds in a high state of satisfaction. 


CHAPTER VIII 


Boat-building extraordinary — Curious conversation with 
the cat and other matters — We visit the coral reef — 
The way in which coral islands are made — A mon¬ 
strous whale — Water-spouts. 

F OR many days after this Jack applied himself with 
unremitting assiduity to the construction of our boat, 
which at length began to look something like one. But 
those only who have had the thing to do can entertain a 
right idea of the difficulty involved in such an undertak¬ 
ing, with no other implements than an axe, a bit of 
hoop-iron, a sail-needle, and a broken penknife. But 
Jack did it. He was of that disposition which will not 
be conquered. When he believed himself to be acting 
rightly, he overcame all obstacles. I have seen Jack, 
when doubtful whether what he was about to do were 
right or wrong, as timid and vacillating as a little girl; 
and I honour him for it! 

As this boat was a curiosity in its way, a few words 
here relative to the manner of its construction may not 
be amiss. 

I have already mentioned the chestnut tree with its 
wonderful buttresses or planks. This tree, then, furnished 
us with the chief part of our material. First of all, Jack 
sought out a limb of a tree of such a form and size as, 
while it should form the keel, a bend at either end should 


Coral Island 


125 


form the stem and stern-posts. Such a piece, however, 
was not easy to obtain; but at last he procured it by 
rooting up a small tree which had a branch growing at 
the proper angle about ten feet up its stem, with two 
strong roots growing in such a form as enabled him to 
make a flat-sterned boat. This placed, he procured three 
branching roots of suitable size, which he fitted to the 
keel at equal distances, thus forming three strong ribs. 
Now the squaring and shaping of these, and the cutting 
of the grooves in the keel, was an easy enough matter, as 
it was all work for the axe, in the use of which Jack was 
become wonderfully expert; but it was quite a different 
affair when he came to nailing the ribs to the keel, for we 
had no instrument capable of boring a large hole, and no 
nails to fasten them with. We were, indeed, much per¬ 
plexed here; but Jack at length devised an instrument 
that served very well. He took the remainder of our 
hoop-iron and beat it into the form of a pipe or cylinder, 
about as thick as a man’s finger. This he did by means 
of our axe and the old rusty axe we had found at the 
house of the poor man at the other side of the island. 
This, when made red hot, bored slowly through the 
timbers; and, the better to retain the heat, Jack shut 
up one end of it and filled it with sand. True, the work 
was very slowly done, but it mattered not, we had little 
else to do. Two holes were bored in each timber, about 
an inch and a half apart, and also down into the keel, but 
not quite through. Into these were placed stout pegs 
made of a tree called iron-wood; and, when they were 
hammered well home, the timbers were as firmly fixed 


126 


Coral Island 


as if they had been nailed with iron. The gunwales, 
which were very stout, were fixed in a similar- manner. 
But, besides the wooden nails, they were firmly lashed to 
the stem and stern-posts and ribs by means of a species of 
cordage which we had contrived to make out of the 
fibrous husk of the cocoa-nut. This husk was very tough, 
and when a number of the threads were joined together 
they formed excellent cordage. At first we tied the 
different lengths together; but this was such a clumsy 
and awkward complication of knots that we contrived, by 
careful interlacing of the ends together before twisting, to 
make good cordage of any size or length we chose. Of 
course it cost us much time and infinite labour, but Jack 
kept up our spirits when we grew weary, and so all that 
we required was at last constructed. 

Planks were now cut off the chestnut trees of about 
an inch thick. These were dressed with the axe — but 
clumsily, for an axe is ill adapted for such work. Five of 
these planks on each side were sufficient; and we formed 
the boat in a very rounded, barrel-like shape, in order 
to have as little twisting of the planks as possible, for 
although we could easily bend them, we could not easily 
twist them. Having no nails to rivet the planks with, 
we threw aside the ordinary fashion of boat-building and 
adopted one of our own. The planks were therefore 
placed on each other’s edges, and sewed together with the 
tough cordage already mentioned. They were also thus 
sewed to the stem, the stern, and the keel. Each stitch 
or tie was six inches apart, and was formed thus: Three 
holes were bored in the upper plank and three in the 


Coral Island 


127 


lower — the holes being above each other, that is, in a 
vertical line. Through these holes the cord was passed, 
and, when tied, formed a powerful stitch of three-ply. 
Besides this, we placed between the edges of the planks 
layers of cocoa-nut fibre, which, as it swelled when wetted, 
would, we hoped, make our little vessel water-tight. But 
in order further to secure this end, we collected a large 
quantity of pitch from the bread-fruit tree, with which, 
when boiled in our old iron pot, we paid the whole of the 
inside of the boat, and, while it was yet hot, placed large 
pieces of cocoa-nut cloth on it, and then gave it another 
coat above that. Thus the interior was covered with a 
tough, water-tight material; while the exterior, being 
uncovered, and so exposed to the swelling action of the 
Water, was, we hoped, likely to keep the boat quite dry. 
I may add that our hopes were not disappointed. 

While Jack was thus engaged, Peterkin and I some¬ 
times assisted him; but as our assistance was not much 
required, we more frequently went a-hunting on the ex¬ 
tensive mud-flats at the entrance of the long valley which 
lay nearest to our bower. Here we found large flocks of 
ducks of various kinds, some of them bearing so much 
resemblance to the wild ducks of our own country that I 
think they must have been the same. On these occasions 
we took the bow and the sling, with both of which we 
were often successful, though I must confess that I was 
the least so. Our suppers were thus pleasantly varied, 
and sometimes we had such a profusion spread out before 
us that we frequently knew not with which of the dainties 
to begin. 


128 


Coral Island 


I must also add that the poor old cat which we had 
brought home had always a liberal share of our good 
things, and so well was it looked after, especially by 
Peterkin, that it recovered much of its former strength, 
and seemed to improve in sight as well as hearing. 

The large flat stone, or rock of coral, which stood just 
in front of the entrance to our bower, was our table. On 
this rock we had spread out the few articles we possessed 
the day we were shipwrecked; and on the same rock, 
during many a day afterwards, we spread out the bounti¬ 
ful supply with which we had been blessed on our Coral 
Island. Sometimes we sat down at this table to a feast 
consisting of hot rolls — as Peterkin called the newly 
baked bread-fruit — a roast pig, roast duck, boiled and 
roasted yams, cocoa-nuts, taro, and sweet potatoes; which 
we followed up with a dessert of plums, apples, and plan¬ 
tains — the last being a large-sized and delightful fruit 
which grew on a large shrub or tree not more than twelve 
feet high, with light-green leaves of enormous length and 
breadth. These luxurious feasts were usually washed 
down with cocoa-nut lemonade. 

Occasionally Peterkin tried to devise some new dish 
— ‘‘a conglomerate,” as he used to say; but these gener¬ 
ally turned out such atrocious compounds that he 
was ultimately induced to give up his attempts in 
extreme disgust — not forgetting, however, to point 
out to Jack that his failure was a direct contradiction 
to the proverb which he (Jack) was constantly 
thrusting down his throat — namely, that “ where 
there’s a will there’s a way.” For he had a great will 


Coral Island 


129 


to become a cook, but could by no means find a way 
to accomplish that end. 

One day, while Peterkin and I were seated beside our 
table, on which dinner was spread, Jack came up from the 
beach, and, flinging down his axe, exclaimed — 

“There, lads, the boat’s finished at last! So we’ve 
nothing to do now but shape two pair of oars, and then 
we may put to sea as soon as we like.” 

This piece of news threw us into a state of great joy; 
for, although we were aware that the boat had been 
gradually getting near its completion, it had taken so long 
that we did not expect it to be quite ready for at least 
two or three weeks. But Jack had wrought hard and 
said nothing, in order to surprise us. 

“ My dear fellow,” cried Peterkin, “ you’re a perfect 
trump. But why did you not tell us it was so nearly 
ready? Won’t we have a jolly sail to-morrow, eh? ” 

“ Don’t talk so much, Peterkin,” said Jack; “ and 
hand me a bit of that pig.” 

“ Certainly, my dear,” cried Peterkin, seizing the axe. 
“ What part will you have? A leg, or a wing, or a piece 
of the breast — which? ” 

“ A hind leg, if you please,” answered Jack; “ and, 
be so good as to include the tail.” 

“ With all my heart,” said Peterkin, exchanging the 
axe for his hoop-iron knife, with which he cut off the 
desired portion. “ I’m only too glad, my dear boy, to 
see that your appetite is so wholesale, and there’s no 
chance whatever of its dwindling down into re-tail again, 
at least, in so far as this pig is concerned. — Ralph, lad, 


130 


Coral Island 


why don’t you laugh, eh? ” he added, turning suddenly to 
me with a severe look of inquiry. 

“ Laugh! ” said I; “ what at, Peterkin? Why should 
I laugh? ” 

Both Jack and Peterkin answered this inquiry by them¬ 
selves laughing so immoderately that I was induced to 
believe I had missed noticing some good joke, so I begged 
that it might be explained to me; but as this only pro¬ 
duced repeated roars of laughter, I smiled and helped 
myself to another slice of plantain. 

“ Well, but,” continued Peterkin, “ I was talking of a 
sail to-morrow. Can’t we have one, Jack? ” 

“ No,” replied Jack, “ we can’t have a sail, but I hope 
we shall have a row, as I intend to work hard at the oars 
this afternoon, and, if we can’t get them finished by sunset, 
we’ll light our candle-nuts, and turn them out of hands 
before we turn into bed.” 

“ Very good,” said Peterkin, tossing a lump of pork to 
the cat, who received it with a mew of satisfaction. “ I’ll 
help you, if I can.” 

“ Afterwards,” continued Jack, “ we will make a sail 
out of the cocoa-nut cloth, and rig up a mast, and then we 
shall be able to sail to some of the other islands, and visit 
our old friends the penguins.” 

The prospect of being so soon in a position to extend 
our observations to the other islands and enjoy a sail over 
the beautiful sea afforded us much delight, and after 
dinner we set about making the oars in good earnest. 
Jack went into the woods and blocked them roughly out 
with the axe, and I smoothed them down with the knife, 


Coral Island 


131 


while Peterkin remained in the bower spinning, or rather 
twisting, some strong, thick cordage with which to fasten 
them to the boat. 

We worked hard and rapidly, so that when the sun 
went down, Jack and I returned to the bower with four 
stout oars, which required little to be done to them save 
a slight degree of polishing with the knife. As we drew 
near, we were suddenly arrested by the sound of a voice. 
We were not a little surprised at this — indeed, I may 
almost say alarmed; for, although Peterkin was un¬ 
doubtedly fond of talking, we had never up to this time 
found him talking to himself. We listened intently, and 
still heard the sound of a voice, as if in conversation. 
Jack motioned me to be silent, and, advancing to the 
bower on tip-toe, we peeped in. 

The sight that met our gaze was certainly not a little 
amusing. On the top of a log which we sometimes used 
as a table sat the black cat, with a very demure expression 
on its countenance, and in front of it, sitting on the 
ground with his legs extended on either side of the log, 
was Peterkin. At the moment we saw him, he was gazing 
intently into the cat’s face, with his nose about four inches 
from it, his hands being thrust into his breeches pockets. 

“ Cat,” said Peterkin, turning his head a little on one 
side, “ I love you! ” 

There was a pause, as if Peterkin awaited a reply to this 
affectionate declaration. But the cat said nothing. 

“ Do you hear me? ” cried Peterkin sharply. “ I love 
you — I do! Don’t you love me? ” 

To this touching appeal the cat said “ Mew ” faintly. 


132 


Coral Island 


“Ah! that’s right. You’re a jolly old rascal. Why 
did you not speak at once, eh? ” and Peterkin put forward 
his mouth and kissed the cat on the nose! 

“Yes,” continued Peterkin, after a pause, “ I love you. 
D’you think I’d say so if I didn’t, you black villain? I 
love you because I’ve got to take care of you, and to look 
after you, and to think about you, and to see that you 

don’t die-” 

“ Mew, me-a-w! ” said the cat. 

“ Very good,” continued Peterkin; “ quite true, I have 
no doubt. But you’ve no right to interrupt me, sir. 
Hold your tongue till I have done speaking. Moreover, 
cat, I love you because you came to me the first time you 
ever saw me, and didn’t seem to be afraid, and appeared 
to be fond of me, though you didn’t know that I wasn’t 
going to kill you. Now that was brave, that was bold, 
and very jolly, old boy, and I love you for it — I do! ” 
Again there was a pause of a few minutes, during which 
the cat looked placid, and Peterkin dropped his eyes upon 
its toes, as if in contemplation. Suddenly he looked up. 

“ W T ell, cat, what are you thinking about now? Won’t 
speak, eh? Now tell me, don’t you think it’s a monstrous 
shame that those two scoundrels, Jack and Ralph, should 
keep us waiting for our supper so long? ” 

Here the cat arose, put up its back and stretched itself, 
yawned slightly, and licked the point of Peterkin’s nose! 

“ Just so, old boy; you’re a clever fellow. I really do 
believe the brute understands me! ” said Peterkin, while a 
broad grin overspread his face as he drew back and sur¬ 
veyed the cat. 


Coral Island 


133 


At this point Jack burst into a loud fit of laughter. 
The cat uttered an angry fuff and fled, while Peterkin 
sprang up and exclaimed — 

“ Bad luck to you, Jack! you’ve nearly made the heart 
jump out of my body, you have.” 

“ Perhaps I have,” replied Jack, laughing, as we entered 
the bower, “ but as I don’t intend to keep you or the cat 
any longer from your supper, I hope that you’ll both 
forgive me.” 

Peterkin endeavoured to turn this affair off with a 
laugh, but I observed that he blushed very deeply at the 
time we discovered ourselves, and he did not seem to relish 
any allusion to the subject afterwards; so we refrained 
from remarking on it ever after, though it tickled us not 
a little at the time. 

After supper we retired to rest and to dream of wonder¬ 
ful adventures in our little boat and distant voyages upon 
the sea. 

It was a bright, clear, beautiful morning when we first 
launched our little boat, and rowed out upon the placid 
waters of the lagoon. Not a breath of wind ruffled the 
surface of the deep. Not a cloud spotted the deep blue 
sky. Not a sound that was discordant broke the stillness 
of the morning, although there were many sounds, sweet, 
tiny, and melodious, that mingled in the universal harmony 
of nature. The sun was just rising from the Pacific’s 
ample bosom and tipping the mountain-tops with a red 
glow. The sea was shining like a sheet of glass, yet heav¬ 
ing with the long deep swell that, all the world round, 
indicates the life of ocean; and the bright seaweeds and 


134 


Coral Island 


the brilliant corals shone in the depths of that pellucid 
water, as we rowed over it, like rare and precious gems. 
Oh! it was a sight fitted to stir the soul of man to its 
profoundest depths, and, if he owned a heart at all, to 
lift that heart in adoration and gratitude to the great 
Creator of this magnificent and glorious universe. 

At first, in the strength of our delight, we rowed hither 
and thither without aim or object. But after the effer¬ 
vescence of our spirits was abated, we began to look about 
us and to consider what we should do. 

“ I vote that we row to the reef,” cried Peterkin. 

“ And I vote that we visit the islands within the 
lagoon,” said I. 

“ And I vote we do both,” cried Jack; “ so pull away, 
boys.” 

As I have already said, we had made four oars, but 
our boat was so small that only two were necessary. 
The extra pair were reserved in case any accident should 
happen to the others. It was therefore only needful that 
two of us should row, while the third steered, by means 
of an oar, and relieved the rowers occasionally. 

First we landed on one of the small islands and ran all 
over it, but saw nothing worthy of particular notice. 
Then we landed on a larger island, on which were grow¬ 
ing a few cocoa-nut trees. Not having eaten anything 
that morning, we gathered a few of the nuts and break¬ 
fasted. After this we pulled straight out to sea and 
landed on the coral reef. 

This was indeed a novel and interesting sight to us. 
We had now been so long on shore that we had almost 


Coral Island 


135 


forgotten the appearance of breakers, for there were none 
within the lagoon; but now, as we stood beside the foam- 
crested billow of the open sea, all the enthusiasm of the 
sailor was awakened in our breasts, and as we gazed on 
the widespread ruin of that single magnificent breaker 
that burst in thunder at our feet, we forgot the Coral 
Island behind us; we forgot our bower and the calm 
repose of the scented woods; we forgot all that had passed 
during the last few months, and remembered nothing but 
the storms, the calms, the fresh breezes and the surging 
billows of the open sea. 

This huge, ceaseless breaker, to which I have so often 
alluded, was a much larger and more sublime object than 
we had at all imagined it to be. It rose many yards 
above the level of the sea, and could be seen approaching 
at some distance from the reef. Slowly and majestically 
it came on, acquiring greater volume and velocity as it 
advanced, until it assumed the form of a clear watery 
arch, which sparkled in the bright sun. On it came with 
resistless and solemn majesty — the upper edge lipped 
gently over, and it fell with a roar that seemed as though 
the heart of Ocean were broken in the crash of tumultuous 
water, while the foam-clad coral reef appeared to tremble 
beneath the mighty shock! 

We gazed long and wonderingly at this great sight, 
and it was with difficulty we could tear ourselves away 
from it. As I have once before mentioned, this wave 
broke in many places over the reef and scattered some of 
its spray into the lagoon, but in most places the reef was 
sufficiently broad and elevated to receive and check its 


136 


Coral Island 


entire force. In many places the coral rocks were covered 
with vegetation — the beginning, as it appeared to us, of 
future islands. Thus, on this reef, we came to perceive 
how most of the small islands of those seas are formed. 
On one part we saw the spray of the breaker washing over 
the rocks, and millions of little, active, busy creatures 
continuing the work of building up this living rampart. 
At another place, which was just a little too high for the 
waves to wash over it, the coral insects were all dead; for 
we found that they never did their work above water. 
They had faithfully completed the mighty work which 
their Creator had given them to do, and they were now 
all dead. Again, in other spots the ceaseless lashing of 
the sea had broken the dead coral in pieces, and cast 
it up in the form of sand. Here sea-birds had alighted, 
little pieces of seaweed and stray bits of wood had been 
washed up, seeds of plants had been carried by the wind, 
and a few lovely blades of bright green had already sprung 
up, which, when they died, would increase the size and 
fertility of these emeralds of Ocean. At other places 
these islets had grown apace, and were shaded by one or 
two cocoa-nut trees, which grew, literally, in the sand, 
and were constantly washed by the ocean spray; yet, as 
I have before remarked, their fruit was almost refreshing 
and sweet to our taste. 

Again at this time Jack and I pondered the formation 
of the large coral islands. We could now understand how 
the low ones were formed; but the larger islands cost us 
much consideration, yet we could arrive at no certain con¬ 
clusion on the subject. 


Coralllsland 


137 


Having satisfied our curiosity and enjoyed ourselves 
during the whole day in our little boat, we returned 
somewhat wearied, and withal rather hungry, to our 
bower. 

“ Now,” said Jack, “ as our boat answers so well, we 
will get a mast and sail made immediately.” 

“ So we will,” cried Peterkin, as we all assisted to drag 
the boat above high-water mark. “ We’ll light our 
candle and set about it this very night. Hurrah, my 
boys, pull away! ” 

As we dragged our boat, we observed that she grated 
heavily on her keel, and as the sands were in this place 
mingled with broken coral rocks, we saw portions of the 
wood being scraped off. 

“ Hallo! ” cried Jack on seeing this, “ that won’t do. 
Our keel will be worn off in no time at this rate.” 

“So it will,” said I, pondering deeply as to how this 
might be prevented. But I am not of a mechanical turn 
naturally, so I could conceive no remedy save that of put¬ 
ting a plate of iron on the keel; but as we had no iron, I 
knew not what was to be done. “ It seems to me, Jack,” 
I added, “ that it is impossible to prevent the keel being 
worn off thus.” 

“ Impossible! ” cried Peterkin. “ My dear Ralph, you 
are mistaken; there is nothing so easy.” 

“ How? ” I inquired, in some surprise. 

“ Why, by not using the boat at all! ” replied Peterkin. 

“ Hold your impudent tongue, Peterkin,” said Jack, as 
he shouldered the oars; “ come along with me, and I’ll 
give you work to do. In the first place, you will go and 


138 Coral Island 

collect cocoa-nut fibre, and set to work to make sewing 
twine with it-” 

“ Please, captain,” interrupted Peterkin, “ I’ve got lots 
of it made already — more than enough, as a little friend 
of mine used to be in the habit of saying every day after 
dinner.” 

“ Very well,” continued Jack; “ then you’ll help Ralph 
to collect cocoa-nut cloth, and cut it into shape, after 
which we’ll make a sail of it. I’ll see to getting the mast 
and the gearing; so let’s to work.” 

And to work we went right busily, so that in three 
days from that time we had set up a mast and sail, with 
the necessary rigging, in our little boat. The sail was 
not, indeed, very handsome to look at, as it was formed 
of a number of oblong patches of cloth; but we had sewed 
it well by means of our sail-needle, so that it was strong, 
which was the chief point. Jack had also overcome the 
difficulty about the keel, by pinning to it a false keel. 
This was a piece of tough wood, of the same length and 
width as the real keel, and about five inches deep. He 
made it of this depth because the boat would be thereby 
rendered not only much more safe, but more able to beat 
against the wind; which, in a sea where the trade-winds 
blow so long and so steadily in one direction, was a matter 
of great importance. This piece of wood was pegged very 
firmly to the keel; and we now launched our boat with 
the satisfaction of knowing that when the false keel should 
be scraped off, we could easily put on another; whereas, 
should the real keel have been scraped away, we could 
not have renewed it without taking our boat to pieces, 


Coral Island 


139 


which Peterkin said made his “ marrow quake to 
think upon.” 

The mast and sail answered excellently, and we now 
sailed about in the lagoon with great delight, and examined 
with much interest the appearance of our island from a 
distance. Also, we gazed into the depths of the water, 
and watched for hours the gambols of the curious and 
bright-coloured fish among the corals and seaweed. Peter- 
kin also made a fishing-line, and Jack constructed a num¬ 
ber of hooks, some of which were very good, others remark¬ 
ably bad. Some of these hooks were made of iron-wood, 
which did pretty well, the wood being extremely hard, and 
Jack made them very thick and large. Fish there are not 
particular. Some of the crooked bones in fish-heads also 
answered for this purpose pretty well. But that which 
formed our best and most serviceable hook was the brass 
finger-ring belonging to Jack. It gave him not a little 
trouble to manufacture it. First he cut it with the axe 
then twisted it into the form of a hook. The barb took 
him several hours to cut. He did it by means of con¬ 
stant sawing with the broken penknife. As for the point, 
an hour’s rubbing on a piece of sandstone made an excel¬ 
lent one. 

It would be a matter of much time and labour to de¬ 
scribe the appearance of the multitudes of fish that were 
day after day drawn into our boat by means of the brass 
hook. Peterkin always caught them — for we observed 
that he derived much pleasure from fishing — while Jack 
and I found ample amusement in looking on, also in 
gazing down at the coral groves, and in baiting the hook. 


140 


Coral Island 


Among the fish that we saw, but did not catch’, were 
porpoises and sword-fish, whales and sharks. The por¬ 
poises came frequently into our lagoon in shoals, and 
amused us not a little by their bold leaps into the air and 
their playful gambols in the sea. The sword-fish were 
wonderful creatures; some of them apparently ten feet in 
length, with an ivory spear six or eight feet long project¬ 
ing from their noses. We often saw them darting after 
other fish, and no doubt they sometimes killed them with 
their ivory swords. Jack remembered having heard once 
of a sword-fish attacking a ship — which seemed strange 
indeed; but as they are often in the habit of attacking 
whales, perhaps it mistook the ship for one. This sword¬ 
fish ran against the vessel with such force that it drove 
its sword quite through the thick planks, and when the 
ship arrived in harbour, long afterwards, the sword was 
found still sticking in it! 

Sharks did not often appear, but we took care never 
again to bathe in deep water without leaving one of our 
number in the boat to give us warning, if he should see a 
shark approaching. As for the whales, they never came 
into our lagoon, but we frequently saw them spouting in 
the deep water beyong the reef. I shall never forget my 
surprise the first day I saw one of these huge monsters 
close to me. We had been rambling about on the reef 
during the morning, and were about to re-embark in our 
little boat to return home, when a loud blowing sound 
caused us to wheel rapidly round. We were just in time 
to see a shower of spray falling, and the flukes or tail of 
some monstrous fish disappear in the sea a few hundred 


Coral Island 


141 


yards off. We waited some time to see if he would rise 
again. As we stood, the sea seemed to open up at our 
very feet; an immense spout of water was sent with a 
snort high into the air, and the huge, blunt head of a 
sperm whale rose before us. It was so large that it could 
easily have taken our little boat, along with ourselves, 
into its mouth! It plunged slowly back into the sea, like 
a large ship foundering, and struck the water with its tail 
so forcibly as to cause a sound like a cannon shot. 

We also saw a great number of flying-fisli, although we 
caught none; and we noticed that they never flew out 
of the water except when followed by their bitter foe the 
dolphin, from whom they thus endeavoured to escape. 
But of all the fish that we saw, none surprised us so much 
as those that we used to find in shallow pools after a 
shower of rain; and this not on account of their appear¬ 
ance, for they were ordinary-looking and very small, but 
on account of their having descended in a shower of rain! 
We could account for them in no other way, because the 
pools in which we found these fish were quite dry before 
the shower, and at some distance above high-water mark. 
Jack, however, suggested a cause which seemed to me 
very probable. We used often to see water-spouts in the 
sea. A water-spout is a whirling body of water, which 
rises from the sea like a sharp-pointed pillar. After rising 
a good way, it is met by a long tongue, which comes down 
from the clouds; and when the two have joined, they look 
something like an hour-glass. The water-spout is then 
carried by the wind, sometimes gently, sometimes with 
violence, over the sea, sometimes up into the clouds, and 


142 


Coral Island 


then, bursting asunder, it descends in a deluge. This often 
happens over the land as well as over the sea; and it some¬ 
times does much damage, but frequently it passes gently 
away. Now, Jack thought that the little fish might per¬ 
haps have been carried up in a water-spout, and so sent 
down again in a shower of rain. But we could not be 
certain as to this point, yet we thought it likely. 

During these delightful fishing and boating excursions 
we caught a good many eels, which we found to be very 
good to eat. We also found turtles among the coral rocks, 
and made excellent soup in our iron kettle. Moreover, 
we discovered many shrimps and prawns, so that we had 
no lack of variety in our food; and, indeed, we never 
passed a week without making some new and interesting 
discovery of some sort or other, either on the land or in 
the sea. 


CHAPTER IX 

Peter kin's terrible accident — We visit Penguin Island . 

O NE day, not long after our little boat was finished, we 
were sitting on the rocks at Spouting Cliff, and talk¬ 
ing of an excursion which we intended to make to Penguin 
Island the next day. 

“You see,” said Peterkin, “ it might be all very well 
for a stupid fellow like me to remain here and leave the 
penguins alone, but it would be quite inconsistent with 
your characters as philosophers to remain any longer in 
ignorance of the habits and customs of these birds; so 
the sooner we go the better.” 

“ Very true,” said I; “ there is nothing I desire so much 
as to have a closer inspection of them.” 

“ And I think,” said Jack, “ that you had better remain 
at home, Peterkin, to take care of the cat; for I’m sure 
the hogs will be at it in your absence, out of revenge for 
your killing their great-grandmother so recklessly.” 

“ Stay at home! ” cried Peterkin. “ My dear fellow, 
you would certainly lose your way, or get upset, if I were 
not there to take care of you.” 

“ Ah, true,” said Jack gravely; “ that did not occur to 
me; no doubt you must go. Our boat does require a 
good deal of ballast; and all that you say, Peterkin, 
carries so much weight with it, that we won’t need stones 
if you go.” 


144 


Coral Island 


Now, while my companions were talking, a notable 
event occurred, which, as it is not generally known, I 
shall be particular in recording here. 

While we were talking, as I have said, we noticed a 
dark line, like a low cloud or fog-bank, on the seaward 
horizon. The day was a fine one, though cloudy, and a 
gentle breeze was blowing, but the sea was not rougher 
or the breaker on the reef higher than usual. At first 
we thought that this looked like a thunder-cloud, and as 
we had had a good deal of broken weather of late, accom¬ 
panied by occasional peals of thunder, we supposed that 
a storm must be approaching. Gradually, however, this 
line seemed to draw nearer without spreading up over the 
sky, as would certainly have been the case if it had been 
a storm-cloud. Still nearer it came, and soon we saw that 
it was moving swiftly towards the island; but there was 
no sound till it reached the islands out at sea. As it 
passed these islands, we observed, with no little anxiety, 
that a cloud of white foam encircled them, and burst in 
spray into the air; it was accompanied by a loud roar. 
This led us to conjecture that the approaching object was 
an enormous wave of the sea; but we had no idea how 
large it was till it came near to ourselves. When it 
approached the outer reef, however, we were awe-struck 
with its unusual magnitude; and we sprang to our feet, 
and clambered hastily up to the highest point of the pre¬ 
cipice, under an indefinable feeling of fear. 

I have said before that the reef opposite Spouting Cliff 
was very near to the shore, while just in front of the bower, 
it was at a considerable distance out to sea. Owing to 


Coral Island 


145 


this formation, the wave reached the reef at the latter 
point before it struck at the foot of Spouting Cliff. The 
instant it touched the reef we became aware, for the first 
time, of its awful magnitude. It burst completely over 
the reef at all points, with a roar that seemed louder to 
me than thunder; and this roar continued for some 
seconds, while the wave rolled gradually along towards 
the cliff on which we stood. As its crest reared before us, 
we felt that we were in great danger, and turned to flee; 
but we were too late. With a crash that seemed to shake 
the solid rock the gigantic billow fell, and instantly the 
spouting-holes sent up a gush of water-spouts with such 
force that they shrieked on issuing from their narrow 
vents. It seemed to us as if the earth had been blown up 
with water. We were stunned and confused by the shock, 
and so drenched and blinded with spray, that we knew 
not for a few moments whither to flee for shelter. At 
length we all three gained an eminence beyond the reach 
of the water; but what a scene of devastation met our 
gaze as we looked along the shore! This enormous wave 
not only burst over the reef, but continued its way across 
the lagoon, and fell on the sandy beach of the island with 
such force that it passed completely over it and dashed 
into the woods, levelling the smaller trees and bushes in 
its headlong course. 

On seeing this, Jack said he feared our bower must have 
been swept away, and that the boat, which was on the 
beach, must have been utterly destroyed. Our hearts 
sank within us as we thought of this, and we hastened 
round through the woods towards our home. On reaching 


146 


Coral Island 


it we found, to our great relief of mind, that the force of the 
wave had been expended just before reaching the bower; 
but the entrance to it was almost blocked up by the torn- 
up bushes and tangled heaps of seaweed. Having satis¬ 
fied ourselves as to the bower, we hurried to the spot 
where the boat had been left; but no boat was there. 
The spot on which it had stood was vacant, and no sign 
of it could we see on looking around us. 

“ It may have been washed up into the woods,” said 
Jack, hurrying up the beach as he spoke. Still no boat 
was to be seen, and we were about to give ourselves over 
to despair, when Peterkin called to Jack and said — 

“ Jack, my friend, you were once so exceedingly saga¬ 
cious and wise as to make me acquainted with the fact 
that cocoa-nuts grow upon trees; will you now be so good 
as to inform me what sort of fruit that is growing on 
the top of yonder bush? for I confess to being ignorant, 
or, at least, doubtful on the point.” 

We looked towards the bush indicated, and there, to 
our surprise, beheld our little boat snugly nestled among 
the leaves. We were very much overjoyed at this, for we 
would have suffered any loss rather than the loss of our 
boat. We found that the wave had actually borne the 
boat on its crest from the beach into the woods, and there 
launched it into the heart of this bush; which was ex¬ 
tremely fortunate, for had it been tossed against a rock or 
a tree, it would have been dashed to pieces, whereas it had 
not received the smallest injury. It was no easy matter, 
however, to get it out of the bush and down to the sea 
again. This cost us two days of hard labour to accomplish. 


Coral Island 


147 


We had also much ado to clear away the rubbish from 
before the bower, and spent nearly a week in constant 
labour ere we got the neighbourhood to look as clean and 
orderly as before; for the uprooted bushes and seaweed 
that lay on the beach formed a more dreadfully confused- 
looking mass than one who had not seen the place after 
the inundation could conceive. 

Before leaving the subject, I may mention, for the sake 
of those who interest themselves in the curious natural 
phenomena of our world, that this gigantic wave occurs 
regularly on some of the islands of the Pacific once, and 
sometimes twice, in the year. I heard this stated by the 
missionaries during my career in those seas. They could 
not tell me whether it visited all of the islands, but I was 
certainly assured that it occurred periodically in some of 
them. 

After we had got our home put to rights, and cleared 
of the debris of the inundation, we again turned our 
thoughts to paying the penguins a visit. The boat was 
therefore overhauled and a few repairs done. Then we 
prepared a supply of provisions, for we intended to be 
absent at least a night or two, perhaps longer. This took 
us some time to do, for while Jack was busy with the boat, 
Peterkin was sent into the woods to spear a hog or two, 
and had to search long, sometimes, ere he found them. 
Peterkin was usually sent on this errand when we wanted 
a pork chop (which was not seldom), because he was so 
active and could run so wonderfully fast that he found no 
difficulty in overtaking the hogs; but, being dreadfully 
reckless, he almost invariably tumbled over stumps and 


148 


Coral Island 


stones in the course of his wild chase, and seldom returned 
home without having knocked the skin off his shins. 
Once, indeed, a more serious accident happened to him. 
He had been out all the morning alone, and did not return 
at the usual time to dinner. We wondered at this, for 
Peterkin was always very punctual at the dinner-hour. 
As supper-time drew near, we began to be anxious about 
him, and at length sallied forth to search the woods. For 
a long time we sought in vain, but a little before dark we 
came upon the tracks of the hogs, which we followed up 
until we came to the brow of a rather steep bank or 
precipice. Looking over this, we beheld Peterkin lying 
in a state of insensibility at the foot, with his cheek 
resting on the snout of a little pig, which was pinned to 
the earth by the spear. We were dreadfully alarmed, but 
hastened to bathe his forehead with water, and had soon 
the satisfaction of seeing him revive. After we had 
carried him home, he related to us how the thing had 
happened. 

“ You must know,” said he, “ I walked about all the 
forenoon, till I was as tired as an old donkey, without 
seeing a single grunter — not so much as a track of one; 
but as I was determined not to return empty-handed, I 
resolved to go without my dinner, and-” 

“ What! ” exclaimed Jack, “ did you really resolve to 
do that? ” 

“ Now, Jack, hold your tongue,” returned Peterkin. 
“ I say that I resolved to forego my dinner and to push to 
the head of the small valley, where I felt pretty sure of 
discovering the hogs. I soon found that I was on the 


Coral Island 


149 


right scent, for I had scarcely walked half a mile in the 
direction of the small plum tree we found there the other 
day, when a squeak fell on my ear. ‘ Ho, ho,’ said I, 
‘ there you go, my boys; ’ and I hurried up the glen. I 
soon started them, and, singling out a fat pig, ran tilt at 
him. In a few seconds I was up with him, and stuck my 
spear right through his dumpy body. Just as I did so, I 
saw that we were on the edge of a precipice, whether high 
or low I knew not; but I had been running at such a 
pace that I could not stop, so the pig and I gave a howl 
in concert and went plunging over together. I remem¬ 
bered nothing more after that, till I came to my senses 
and found you bathing my temples, and Ralph wringing 
his hands over me.” 

But although Peterkin was often unfortunate in the 
way of getting tumbles, he was successful on the present 
occasion in hunting, and returned before evening with 
three very nice little hogs. I also was successful in my 
visit to the mud-flats, where I killed several ducks. So 
that, when we launched and loaded our boat at sunrise 
the following morning, we found our store of provisions to 
be more than sufficient. Part had been cooked the night 
before, and on taking note of the different items, we‘found 
the account to stand thus: — 

10 Bread-fruits (two baked, eight unbaked). 

20 Yams (six roasted, the rest raw). 

6 Taro roots. 

50 Fine large plums. 

6 Cocoa-nuts, ripe. 


150 


Coral Island 


6 Ditto, green (for drinking). 

4 Large ducks and two small ones (raw). 

3 Cold roast pigs, with stuffing. 

I may here remark that the stuffing had been devised 
by Peterkin specially for the occasion. He kept the 
manner of its compounding a profound secret, so I cannot 
tell what it was; but I can say, with much confidence, 
that we found it to be atrociously bad, and, after the first 
tasting, scraped it carefully out and threw it overboard. 
We calculated that this supply would last us for several 
days; but we afterwards found that it was much more 
than we required, especially in regard to the cocoa-nuts, 
of which we found large supplies wherever we went. 
However, as Peterkin remarked, it was better to have 
too much than too little, as we knew not to what straits 
we might be put during our voyage. 

It was a very calm, sunny morning when we launched 
forth and rowed over the lagoon towards the outlet in the 
reef, and passed between the two green islets that guarded 
the entrance. We experienced some difficulty and no 
little danger in passing the surf of the breaker, and shipped 
a good deal of water in the attempt; but, once past the 
billow, we found ourselves floating placidly on the long 
oily swell that rose and fell slowly as it rolled over the 
wide ocean. 

Penguin Island lay on the other side of our own island 
at about a mile beyond the outer reef, and we calculated 
that it must be at least twenty miles distant by the way 
we should have to go. We might, indeed, have shortened 


Coral Island 


151 


the way by coasting round our island inside of the lagoon, 
and going out at the passage in the reef nearly opposite 
to Penguin Island; but we preferred to go by the open 
sea — first, because it was more adventurous, and, 
secondly, because we should have the pleasure of again 
feeling the motion of the deep, which we all loved very 
much, not being liable to sea-sickness. 

“ I wish we had a breeze,” said Jack. 

“ So do I,” cried Peterkin, resting on his oar and wiping 
his heated brow; “ pulling is hard work. Oh dear, if we 
could only catch a hundred or two of these gulls, tie them 
to the boat with long strings, and make them fly as we 
want them, how capital it would be! ” 

“ Or bore a hole through a shark’s tail, and reeve a rope 
through it, eh? ” remarked Jack. “ But I say, it seems 
that my wish is going to be granted, for here comes a 
breeze. Ship your oar, Peterkin. Up with the mast, 
Ralph; I’ll see to the sail. Mind your helm; look out 
for squalls! ” 

This last speech was caused by the sudden appearance 
of a dark-blue line on the horizon, which, in an incredibly 
short space of time, swept down on us, lashing up the sea 
in white foam as it went. We presented the stern of the 
boat to its first violence, and in a few seconds it moderated 
into a steady breeze, to which we spread our sail and flew 
merrily over the waves. Although the breeze died away 
soon afterwards, it had been so stiff while it lasted that 
we were carried over the greater part of our way before it 
fell calm again; so that, when the flapping of the sail 
against the mast told us that it was time to resume the 


152 Coral Island 

oars, we were not much more than a mile from Penguin 
Island. 

“ There go the soldiers! ” cried Peterkin, as we came in 
sight of it; “ how spruce their white trousers look this 
morning! I wonder if they will receive us kindly. D’you 
think they are hospitable, Jack? ” 

“ Don’t talk, Peterkin, but pull away, and you shall see 
shortly.” 

As we drew near to the island we were much amused by 
the manoeuvres and appearance of these strange birds. 
They seemed to be of different species, for some had crests 
on their heads while others had none, and while some were 
about the size of a goose, others appeared nearly as large 
as a swan. We also saw a huge albatross soaring above 
the heads of the penguins. It was followed and sur¬ 
rounded by numerous flocks of sea-gulls. Having ap¬ 
proached to within a few yards of the island, which was a 
low rock, with no other vegetation on it than a few bushes, 
we lay on our oars and gazed at the birds with surprise 
and pleasure, they returning our gaze with interest. We 
now saw that their soldier-like appearance was owing to 
the stiff, erect manner in which they sat on their short 
legs — “ bolt-upright,” as Peterkin expressed it. They 
had black heads, long sharp beaks, white breasts, and 
bluish backs. Their wings were so short that they looked 
more like the fins of a fish, and, indeed, we soon saw that 
they used them for the purpose of swimming under water. 
There were no quills on these wings, but a sort of scaly 
feathers, which also thickly covered their bodies. Their 
legs were short, and placed so far back that the birds. 


Coral Island 


153 


while on land, were obliged to stand quite upright in order 
to keep their balance; but in the water they floated like 
other water-fowl. At first we were so stunned with the 
clamour which they and other sea-birds kept up around 
us, that we knew not which way to look — for they covered 
the rocks in thousands; but, as we continued to gaze, we 
observed several quadrupeds (as we thought) walking in 
the midst of the penguins. 

“ Pull in a bit,” cried Peterkin, “ and let’s see what 
these are. They must be fond of noisy company, to con¬ 
sort with such creatures.” 

To our surprise, we found that these were no other than 
penguins which had gone down on all fours, and were 
crawling among the bushes on their feet and wings, just 
like quadrupeds. Suddenly one big old bird, that had 
been sitting on a point very near to us, gazing in mute 
astonishment, became alarmed, and, scuttling down 
the rocks, plumped or fell, rather than ran, into the 
sea. It dived in a moment, and, a few seconds after¬ 
wards, came out of the water far ahead, with such a 
spring, and such a dive back into the sea again, that we 
could scarcely believe it was not a fish that had leaped 
in sport. 

“ That beats everything,” said Peterkin, rubbing his 
nose, and screwing up his face with an expression of ex¬ 
asperated amazement. “ I’ve heard of a thing being 
neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, but I never did expect to 
live to see a brute that was all three together — at once 
— in one! But look there!” he continued — pointing 
with a look of resignation to the shore — “look there! 


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there’s no end to it. What has that brute got under its 
tail? ” 

We turned to look in the direction pointed out, and 
there saw a penguin walking slowly and very sedately 
along the shore with an egg under its tail. There were 
several others, we observed, burdened in the same way; 
and we found afterwards that these were a species of pen¬ 
guin that always carried their eggs so. Indeed, they had 
a most convenient cavity for the purpose, just between the 
tail and the legs. We were very much impressed with 
the regularity and order of this colony. The island 
seemed to be apportioned out into squares, of which each 
penguin possessed one, and sat in stiff solemnity in the 
middle of it, or took a slow march up and down the 
spaces between. Some were hatching their eggs, but 
others were feeding their young ones in a manner that 
caused us to laugh not a little. The mother stood on a 
mound or raised rock, while the young one stood patiently 
below her on the ground. Suddenly the mother raised her 
head and uttered a series of the most discordant cackling 
sounds. 

“ She’s going to choke,” cried Peterkin. 

But this was not the case, although, I confess, she looked 
like it. In a few seconds she put down her head and 
opened her mouth, into which the young one thrust its 
beak and seemed to suck something from her throat. 
Then the cackling was renewed, the sucking continued, and 
so the operation of feeding was carried on till the young 
one was satisfied; but what she fed her little one with we 
could not tell. 


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155 


“ Now, just look yonder! ” said Peterkin in an excited 
tone; “ if that isn’t the most abominable piece of maternal 
deception I ever saw! That rascally old lady penguin has 
just pitched her young one into the sea, and there’s another 
about to follow her example.” 

This indeed seemed to be the case, for on the top of a 
steep rock close to the edge of the sea we observed an old 
penguin endeavouring to entice her young one into the 
water; but the young one seemed very unwilling to go, 
and, notwithstanding the enticements of its mother, 
moved very slowly towards her. At last she went gently 
behind the young bird and pushed it a little towards the 
water, but with great tenderness, as much as to say, 
“ Don’t be afraid, darling; I won’t hurt you, my pet! ” 
but no sooner did she get it to the edge of the rock, where 
it stood looking pensively down at the sea, than she gave 
it a sudden and violent push, sending it headlong down the 
slope into the water, where its mother left it to scramble 
ashore as it best could. We observed many of them em¬ 
ployed in doing this, and we came to the conclusion that 
this is the way in which old penguins teach their children 
to swim. 

Scarcely had we finished making our remarks on this, 
when we were startled by about a dozen of the old birds 
hopping in the most clumsy and ludicrous manner towards 
the sea. The beach here was a sloping rock, and when 
they came to it some of them succeeded in hopping down 
in safety, but others lost their balance, and rolled and 
scrambled down the slope in the most helpless manner. 
The instant they reached the water, however, they seemed 


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to be in their proper element. They dived and bounded 
out of it and into it again with the utmost agility; and 
so, diving and bounding and sputtering — for they could 
not fly — they went rapidly out to sea. 

On seeing this, Peterkin turned with a grave face 
to us and said: “ It’s my opinion that these birds are 
all stark, staring mad, and that this is an enchanted 
island. I therefore propose that we should either put 
about ship and fly in terror from the spot, or land 
valorously on the island, and sell our lives as dearly as 
we can.” 

“ I vote for landing; so pull in, lads,” said Jack, giving 
a stroke with his oar that made the boat spin. In a few 
seconds we ran the boat into a little creek, where we made 
her fast to a projecting piece of coral, and running up the 
beach, entered the ranks of the penguins armed with our 
cudgels and our spear. We were greatly surprised to find 
that, instead of attacking us or showing signs of fear at 
our approach, these curious birds did not move from 
their places until we laid hands on them, and merely 
turned their eyes on us in solemn, stupid w r onder as we 
passed. There was one old penguin, however, that began 
to walk slowly towards the sea, and Peterkin took it into 
his head that he would try to interrupt its progress, so 
he ran between it and the sea and brandished his cudgel 
in its face. But this proved to be a resolute old bird. 
It would not retreat; nay, more, it would not cease to 
advance, but battled with Peterkin bravely and drove 
him before it until it reached the sea. Had Peterkin used 
his club he could easily have felled it, no doubt; but as 


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157 


he had no wish to do so cruel an act merely out of sport, 
he let the bird escape. 

We spent fully three hours on this island in watching 
the habit of these curious birds, but when we finally left 
them, we all three concluded, after much consultation, 
that they were the most wonderful creatures we had ever 
seen; and further, we thought it probable that they were 
the most wonderful creatures in the world! 


CHAPTER X 

Narrow escape — Deliverance from danger. 

I T was evening before we left the island of the penguins. 

As we had made up our minds to encamp for the 
night on a small island, whereon grew a few cocoa-nut 
trees, which was about two miles off, we lay to our oars 
with some energy. But a danger was in store for us 
which we had not anticipated. The wind which had 
carried us so quickly to Penguin Island freshened as 
evening drew on to a stiff breeze, and before we had made 
half the distance to the small island, it became a regular 
gale. Although it was not so directly against us as to 
prevent our rowing in the course we wished to go, yet it 
checked us very much; and although the force of the sea 
was somewhat broken by the island, the waves soon began 
to rise, and to roll their broken crests against our small 
craft, so that she began to take in water, and we had much 
ado to keep ourselves afloat. At last the wind and sea 
together became so violent that we found it impossible to 
make the island, so Jack suddenly put the head of the boat 
round and ordered Peterkin and me to hoist a corner of 
the sail, intending to run back to Penguin Island. 

“ We shall at least have the shelter of the bushes,” he 
said, as the boat flew before the wind, “ and the penguins 
will keep us company.” 

As Jack spoke, the wind suddenly shifted, and blew so 


Coral Island 


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much against us that we were forced to hoist more of the 
sail in order to beat up for the island, being by this change 
thrown much to leeward of it. What made matters 
worse was that the gale came in squalls, so that we were 
more than once nearly upset. 

“ Stand by, both of you,” cried Jack in a quick, earnest 
tone; “ be ready to douse the sail. I very much fear we 
won’t make the island after all.” 

Peterkin and I were so much in the habit of trusting 
everything to Jack that we had fallen into the way of 
not considering things, especially such things as were 
under Jack’s care. We had, therefore, never doubted 
for a moment that all was going well, so that it was with 
no little anxiety that we heard him make the above re¬ 
mark. However, we had no time for question or surmise, 
for at the moment he spoke a heavy squall was bearing 
down upon us; and as we were then flying with our lee 
gunwale dipping occasionally under the waves, it was 
evident that we should have to lower our sail altogether. 
In a few seconds the squall struck the boat, but Peterkin 
and I had the sail down in a moment, so that it did not 
upset us; but when it was past we were more than half 
full of water. This I soon baled out, while Peterkin 
again hoisted a corner of the sail; but the evil which Jack 
had feared came upon us. We found it quite impossible 
to make Penguin Island. The gale carried us quickly 
past it towards the open sea, and the terrible truth flashed 
upon us that we should be swept out and left to perish 
miserably in a small boat in the midst of the wide ocean. 

This idea was forced very strongly upon us because we 


160 


Coral Island 


saw nothing in the direction whither the wind was blow¬ 
ing us save the raging billows of the sea; and, indeed, 
we trembled as we gazed around us, for we were now be¬ 
yond the shelter of the islands, and it seemed as though 
any of the huge billows, which curled over in masses of 
foam, might swallow us up in a moment. The water, 
also, began to wash in over our sides, and I had to keep 
constantly baling, for Jack could not quit the helm nor 
Peterkin the sail for an instant without endangering our 
lives. In the midst of this distress Jack uttered an ex¬ 
clamation of hope, and pointed towards a low island or 
rock which lay directly ahead. It had been hitherto un¬ 
observed, owing to the dark clouds that obscured the sky 
and the blinding spray that seemed to fill the whole 
atmosphere. 

As we neared this rock, we observed that it was quite 
destitute of trees and verdure, and so low that the sea 
broke completely over it. In fact, it was nothing more 
than the summit of one of the coral formations, which 
rose only a few feet above the level of the water, and was, 
in stormy weather, all but invisible. Over this island the 
waves were breaking in the utmost fury, and our hearts 
sank within us as we saw that there was not a spot where 
we could thrust our little boat without its being dashed 
to pieces. 

“ Show a little bit more sail,” cried Jack, as we swept 
past the weather side of the rock with fearful speed. 

“Ay, ay,” answered Peterkin, hoisting about a foot 
more of our sail. 

Little though the addition was, it caused the boat to 


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lie over and creak so loudly as we cleft the foaming waves, 
that I expected to be upset every instant; and I blamed 
Jack in my heart for his rashness. But I did him injus¬ 
tice, for although during two seconds the water rushed in¬ 
board in a torrent, he succeeded in steering us sharply 
round to the leeward side of the rock, where the water 
was comparatively calm and the force of the breeze 
broken. 

“ Out your oars now, lads! that’s well done. Give 
way! ” We obeyed instantly. The oars splashed into 
the waves together. One good, hearty pull, and we were 
floating in a comparatively calm creek that was so narrow 
as to be barely able to admit our boat. Here we were in 
perfect safety, and as we leaped on shore and fastened our 
cable to the rocks, I thanked God in my heart for* our 
deliverance from so great danger. But although I have 
said we were now in safety, I suspect that few of my 
readers would have envied our position. It is true we 
had no lack of food, but we were drenched to the skin; 
the sea was foaming round us and the spray flying over 
our heads, so that we were completely enveloped, as it 
were, in water; the spot on which we had landed was not 
more than twelve yards in diameter, and from this spot we 
could not move without the risk of being swept away by 
the storm. At the upper end of the creek was a small 
hollow or cave in the rock, which sheltered us from the 
fury of the winds and waves; and as the rock extended in 
a sort of ledge over our heads, it prevented the spray from 
falling upon us. 

“ Why,” said Peterkin, beginning to feel cheery again, 


162 


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“ it seems to me that we have got into a mermaid’s cave; 
for there is nothing but water all round us, and as for 
earth and sky, they are things of the past.” 

Peterkin’s idea was not inappropriate, for what with the 
sea roaring in white foam up to our very feet, and the 
spray flying in white sheets continually over our heads, 
and the water dripping heavily from the ledge above like 
a curtain in front of our cave, it did seem to us very much 
more like being below than above water. 

“ Now, boys,” cried Jack, “ bestir yourselves, and let’s 
make ourselves comfortable. — Toss out our provisions, 
Peterkin: and here, Ralph, lend a hand to haul up the 
boat. Look sharp.” 

“ Ay, ay, captain,” we cried, as we hastened to obey, 
much cheered by the hearty manner of our comrade. 

Fortunately the cave, although not very deep, was quite 
dry, so that we succeeded in making ourselves much more 
comfortable than could have been expected. We landed 
our provisions, wrung the water out of our garments, 
spread our sail below us for a carpet, and, after having 
eaten a hearty meal, began to feel quite cheerful. But as 
night drew on our spirits sank again, for with the daylight 
all evidence of our security vanished away. We could no 
longer see the firm rock on which we lay, while we were 
stunned with the violence of the tempest that raged 
around us. The night grew pitchy dark as it advanced, 
so that we could not see our hands when we held them up 
before our eyes, and were obliged to feel each other occa¬ 
sionally to make sure that we were safe, for the storm at 
last became so terrible that it was difficult to make our 


Coral Island 


163 


voices audible. A slight variation of the wind, as we 
supposed, caused a few drops of spray ever and anon to 
blow into our faces; and the eddy of the sea, in its mad 
boiling, washed up into our little creek until it reached our 
feet and threatened to tear away our boat. In order to 
prevent this latter calamity, we hauled the boat farther 
up and held the cable in our hands. Occasional flashes of 
lightning shone with a ghastly glare through the watery 
curtains around us, and lent additional horror to the scene. 
Yet we longed for those dismal flashes, for they were less 
appalling than the thick blackness that succeeded them. 
Crashing peals of thunder seemed to tear the skies in twain, 
and fell upon our ears through the wild yelling of the hurri¬ 
cane as if it had been but a gentle summer breeze; while 
the billows burst upon the weather side of the island until 
we fancied that the solid rock was giving way, and in our 
agony we clung to the bare ground, expecting every 
moment to be whirled away and whelmed in the black 
howling sea. Oh, it was a night of terrible anxiety! and 
no one can conceive the feelings of intense gratitude and 
relief with which we at last saw the dawn of day break 
through the vapoury mists around us. 

For three days and three nights we remained on this 
rock, while the storm continued to rage with unabated 
fury. On the morning of the fourth day it suddenly 
ceased, and the wind fell altogether; but the waves still 
ran so high that we did not dare to put off in our boat. 
During the greater part of this period we scarcely slept 
above a few minutes at a time, but on the third night we 
slept soundly, and awoke early on the fourth morning to 


164 


Coral Island 


find the sea very much down, and the sun shining brightly 
again in the clear blue sky. 

It was with light hearts that we launched forth once 
more in our little boat and steered away for our island 
home, which, we w r ere overjoyed to find, was quite visible 
on the horizon, for we had feared that we had been blown 
out of sight of it altogether. As it was a dead calm, we 
had to row during the greater part of the day; but towards 
the afternoon a fair breeze sprang up, which enabled us to 
hoist our sail. We soon passed Penguin Island and the 
other island which we had failed to reach on the day the 
storm commenced; but as we had still enough of pro¬ 
visions, and were anxious to get home, we did not land, 
to the great disappointment of Peterkin, who seemed to 
entertain quite an affection for the penguins. 

Although the breeze was pretty fresh for several hours, 
we did not reach the outer reef of our island till nightfall, 
and before we had sailed more than a hundred yards into 
the lagoon, the wind died away altogether, so that we had 
to take to our oars again. It was late, and the moon and 
stars were shining brightly, when we arrived opposite the 
bower and leaped upon the strand. So glad were we to 
be safe back again on our beloved island, that we scarcely 
took time to drag the boat a short way up the beach, and 
then ran up to see that all was right at the bower. I 
must confess, however, that my joy was mingled with a 
vague sort of fear lest our home had been visited and de¬ 
stroyed during our absence; but on reaching it we found 
everything just as it had been left, and the poor black cat 
curled up, sound asleep, on the coral table in front of our 
humble dwelling. 


CHAPTER XI 


An appalling battle — Jack proves himself to be a hero — 
With savages — Cannibalism. 

TT^OR many months after this we continued to live on 
our island in uninterrupted harmony and happiness. 
Sometimes we went out a-fishing in the lagoon, and some¬ 
times went a-hunting in the woods, or ascended to the 
mountain-top, by way of variety, although Peterkin always 
asserted that we went for the purpose of hailing any 
ship that might chance to heave in sight. But I am 
certain that none of us wished to be delivered from our 
captivity, for we were extremely happy; and Peterkin 
used to say that, as we were very young, we should not 
feel the loss of a year or two. Peterkin, as I have said 
before, was thirteen years of age, Jack eighteen, and I 
fifteen. But Jack was very tall, strong, and manly for 
his age, and might easily have been mistaken for twenty. 

The climate was so beautiful that it seemed to be a 
perpetual summer, and as many of the fruit-trees con¬ 
tinued to bear fruit and blossom all the year round, we 
never wanted for a plentiful supply of food. The hogs, 
too, seemed rather to increase than diminish, although 
Peterkin was very frequent in his attacks on them with 
his spear. If at any time we failed in finding a drove, we 
had only to pay a visit to the plum tree before mentioned, 


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Coral Island 


where we always found a large family of them asleep under 
its branches. 

We employed ourselves very busily during this time 
in making various garments of cocoa-nut cloth, as those 
with which we had landed were beginning to be very 
ragged. Peterkin also succeeded in making excellent 
shoes out of the skin of the old hog, in the following 
manner. He first cut a piece of the hide, of an oblong 
form, a few inches longer than his foot. This he soaked 
in water, and while it was wet he sewed up one end of it, 
so as to form a rough imitation of that part of the heel 
of a shoe where the seam is. This done, he bored a row 
of holes all round the edge of the piece of skin, through 
which a tough line was passed. Into the sewed-up part 
of this shoe he thrust his heel; then, drawing the string 
tight, the edges rose up and overlapped his foot all round. 
It is true there were a great many ill-looking puckers in 
these shoes; but we found them very serviceable notwith¬ 
standing, and Jack came at last to prefer them to his long 
boots. We also made various other useful articles, which 
added to our comfort, and once or twice spoke of building 
us a house; but we had so great an affection for the bower, 
and withal found it so serviceable, that we determined not 
to leave it, nor to attempt the building of a house, which 
in such a climate might turn out to be rather disagreeable 
than useful. 

We often examined the pistol that we had found in 
the house on the other side of the island, and Peterkin 
wished much that we had powder and shot, as it would 
render pig-killing much easier; but, after all, we had 


Coral Island 167 

become so expert in the use of our sling and bow and spear, 
that we were independent of more deadly weapons. 

Diving in the Water Garden also continued to afford 
us as much pleasure as ever; and Peterkin began to be 
a little more expert in the water from constant practice. 
As for Jack and me, we began to feel as if water were our 
native element, and revelled in it with so much confidence 
and comfort that Peterkin said he feared we would turn 
into fish some day and swim off and leave him, adding 
that he had been for a long time observing that Jack was 
becoming more and more like a shark every day. Where¬ 
upon Jack remarked that if he, Peterkin, were changed 
into a fish, he would certainly turn into nothing better 
or bigger than a shrimp. Poor Peterkin did not envy 
us our delightful excursions under water, except, indeed, 
when Jack would dive down to the bottom of the Water 
Garden, sit down on a rock, and look up and make faces 
at him. Peterkin did feel envious then, and often said 
he would give anything to be able to do that. I was 
much amused when Peterkin said this; for if he could 
only have seen his own face when he happened to take a 
short dive, he would have seen that Jack’s was far sur¬ 
passed by it: the great difference being, however, that 
Jack made faces on purpose — Peterkin couldn’t help it! 

Now, while we were engaged with these occupations and 
amusements, an event occurred one day which was as un¬ 
expected as it was exceedingly alarming and very horrible. 

Jack and I were sitting, as we were often wont to do, 
on the rocks at Spouting Cliff, and Peterkin was wringing 
the water from his garments, having recently fallen by 


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accident into the sea — a thing he was constantly doing — 
when our attention was suddenly arrested by two objects 
which appeared on the horizon. 

“ What are yon, think you? ” I said, addressing Jack. 

“ I can’t imagine,” answered he. “ I’ve noticed them 
for some time, and fancied they were black sea-gulls, but 
the more I look at them the more I feel convinced they 
are much larger than gulls.” 

“ They seem to be coming towards us,” said I. 

“ Hallo! what’s wrong? ” inquired Peterkin, coming up. 

“ Look there,” said Jack. 

“Whales!” cried Peterkin, shading his eyes with his 
hand. “ No — eh — can they be boats, Jack? ” 

Our hearts beat with excitement at the very thought of 
seeing human faces again. 

“ I think you are about right, Peterkin. But they seem 
to me to move strangely for boats,” said Jack in a low 
tone, as if he were talking to himself. 

I noticed that a shade of anxiety crossed Jack’s coun¬ 
tenance as he gazed long and intently at the two objects, 
which were now nearing us fast. At last he sprang to 
his feet. “They are canoes, Ralph! Whether war- 
canoes or not I cannot tell; but this I know, that all the 
natives of the South Sea Islands are fierce cannibals, and 
they have little respect for strangers. We must hide if 
they land here, which I earnestly hope they will not 
do.” 

I was greatly alarmed at Jack’s speech, but I confess I 
thought less of what he said than of the earnest, anxious 
manner in which he said it; and it was with very uncom- 


Coral Island 


169 


fortable feelings that Peterkin and I followed him quickly 
into the woods. 

“ How unfortunate,” said I, as we gained the shelter of 
the bushes, “ that we have forgotten our arms! ” 

“ It matters not,” said Jack; “ here are clubs enough 
and to spare.” As he spoke, he laid his hand on a bundle 
of stout poles of various sizes, which Peterkin’s ever-busy 
hands had formed during our frequent visits to the cliff, 
for no other purpose, apparently, than that of having 
something to do. 

We each selected a stout club according to our several 
tastes, and lay down behind a rock, whence we could see 
the canoes approach, without ourselves being seen. At 
first we made an occasional remark on their appearance, 
but after they entered the lagoon, and drew near the 
beach, we ceased to speak, and gazed with intense interest 
at the scene before us. 

We now observed that the foremost canoe was being 
chased by the other, and that it contained a few women 
and children, as well as men — perhaps forty souls alto¬ 
gether; while the canoe which pursued it contained only 
men. They seemed to be about the same in number, 
but were better armed, and had the appearance of being 
a war-party. Both crews were paddling with all their 
might, and it seemed as if the pursuers exerted themselves 
to overtake the fugitives ere they could land. In this, 
however, they failed. The foremost canoe made for the 
beach close beneath the rocks behind which we were con¬ 
cealed. Their short paddles flashed like meteors in the 
water, and sent up a constant shower of spray. The 


170 


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foam curled from the prow, and the eyes of the rowers 
glistened in their black faces, as they strained every 
muscle of their naked bodies; nor did they relax their 
efforts till the canoe struck the beach with a violent shock, 
then with a shout of defiance the whole party sprang, as 
if by magic, from the canoe to the shore. Three women, 
two of whom carried infants in their arms, rushed into the 
woods; and the men crowded to the water’s edge, with 
stones in their hands, spears levelled, and clubs bran¬ 
dished, to resist the landing of their enemies. 

The distance between the two canoes had been about 
half a mile, and, at the great speed they were going, this 
was soon passed. As the pursuers neared the shore, no 
sign of fear or hesitation was noticeable. On they came 
like a wild charger — received but recked not of a shower 
of stones. The canoe struck, and with a yell that seemed 
to issue from the throats of incarnate fiends, they leaped 
into the water, and drove their enemies up the beach. 

The battle that immediately ensued was frightful to 
behold. Most of the men wielded clubs of enormous size 
and curious shapes, with which they dashed out each 
other’s brains. As they were almost entirely naked, and 
had to bound, stoop, leap, and run in their terrible hand- 
to-hand encounters, they looked more like demons than 
human beings. I felt my heart grow sick at the sight of 
this bloody battle, and would fain have turned away, but 
a species of fascination seemed to hold me down and glue 
my eyes upon the combatants. I observed that the 
attacking party was led by a most extraordinary being, 
who, from his size and peculiarity, I concluded was a chief. 


Coral Island 


171 


His hair was frizzed out to an enormous extent, so that 
it resembled a large turban. It was of a light-yellow hue, 
which surprised me much, for the man’s body was as black 
as coal, and I felt convinced that the hair must have been 
dyed. He was tattooed from head to foot, and his face, 
besides being tattooed, was besmeared with red paint, and 
streaked with white. Altogether, with his yellow, turban¬ 
like hair, his Herculean black frame, his glittering eyes 
and white teeth, he seemed the most terrible monster I 
ever beheld. He was very active in the fight, and had 
already killed four men. 

Suddenly the yellow-haired chief was attacked by a man 
quite as strong and large as himself. He flourished a 
heavy club something like an eagle’s beak at the point. 
For a second or two these giants eyed each other warily, 
moving round and round, as if to catch each other at a 
disadvantage; but seeing that nothing was to be gained 
by this caution, and that the loss of time might effectually 
turn the tide of battle either way, they apparently made 
up their minds to attack at the same instant, for, with a 
wild shout and simultaneous spring, they swung their 
heavy clubs, which met with a loud report. Suddenly the 
yellow-haired savage tripped, his enemy sprang forward, 
the ponderous club was swung, but it did not descend, for 
at that moment the savage was felled to the ground by a 
stone from the hand of one who had witnessed his chief’s 
danger. This was the turning-point in the battle. The 
savages who landed first turned and fled towards the bush, 
on seeing the fall of their chief. But not one escaped. 
They were all overtaken and felled to the earth. I saw. 


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however, that they were not all killed. Indeed, their 
enemies, now that they were conquered, seemed anxious 
to take them alive; and they succeeded in securing fifteen, 
whom they bound hand and foot with cords, and carrying 
them up into the woods, laid them down among the bushes. 
Here they left them, for what purpose I knew not, and 
returned to the scene of the late battle, where the remnant 
of the party were bathing their wounds. 

Out of the forty blacks that composed the attacking 
party, only twenty-eight remained alive, two of whom 
were sent into the bush to hunt for the women and chil¬ 
dren. Of the other party, as I have said, only fifteen 
survived, and these were lying bound and helpless on the 
grass. 

Jack and Peterkin and I now looked at each other, and 
whispered our fears that the savages might clamber up 
the rocks to search for fresh water, and so discover our 
place of concealment; but we were so much interested in 
watching their movements that we agreed to remain where 
we were — and, indeed, we could not easily have risen 
without exposing ourselves to detection. One of the 
savages now went up to the wood, and soon returned with 
a bundle of firewood, and we were not a little surprised to 
see him set fire to it by the very same means used by Jack 
the time we made our first fire — namely, with the bow 
and drill. When the fire was kindled, two of the party 
went again to the woods and returned with one of the 
bound men. A dreadful feeling of horror crept over my 
heart as the thought flashed upon me that they were 
going to burn their enemies. As they bore him to the 


Coral Island 


173 


fire my feelings almost overpowered me. I gasped for 
breath, and seizing my club, endeavoured to spring to my 
feet; but Jack’s powerful arm pinned me to the earth. 
Next moment one of the savages raised his club, and 
fractured the wretched creature’s skull. He must have 
died instantly; and, strange though it may seem, I confess 
to a feeling of relief when the deed was done, because I 
now knew that the poor savage could not be burned alive. 
Scarcely had his limbs ceased to quiver when the monsters 
cut slices of flesh from his body, and, after roasting them 
slightly over the fire, devoured them. 

Suddenly there arose a cry from the woods, and in a 
few seconds the two savages hastened towards the fire 
dragging the three women and their two infants along 
with them. One of those women was much younger than 
her companions, and we were struck with the modesty of 
her demeanour and the gentle expression of her face, 
which, although she had the flattish nose and thick lips 
of the others, was of a light-brown colour, and we conjec¬ 
tured that she must be of a different race. She and her 
companions wore short petticoats and a kind of tippet on 
their shoulders. Their hair was jet black, but instead of 
being long, was short and curly — though not woolly — 
somewhat like the hair of a young boy. While we gazed 
with interest and some anxiety at these poor creatures, 
the big chief advanced to one of the elder females and laid 
his hand upon the child. But the mother shrank from 
him, and clasping the little one to her bosom, uttered a 
wail of fear. With a savage laugh, the chief tore the child 
from her arms and tossed it into the sea. A low groan 


174 


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burst from Jack’s lips as he witnessed this atrocious act 
and heard the mother’s shriek, as she fell insensible on the 
sand. The rippling waves rolled the child on the beach, 
as if they refused to be a party in such a foul murder, and 
we could observe that the little one still lived. 

The young girl was now brought forward, and the chief 
addressed her; but although we heard his voice and even 
the words distinctly, of course we could not understand 
what he said. The girl made no answer to his fierce 
questions, and we saw by the way in which he pointed to 
the fire that he threatened her life. 

“ Peterkin,” said Jack in a hoarse whisper, “ have you 
got your knife? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Peterkin, whose face was pale as death. 

“ That will do. Listen to me, and do my bidding 
quick. — Here is the small knife, Ralph. — Fly both of 
you through the bush, cut the cords that bind the prisoners, 
and set them free. There! quick, ere it be too late.” 
Jack sprang up, and seized a heavy but short bludgeon, 
while his strong frame trembled with emotion, and large 
drops rolled down his forehead. 

At this moment the man who had butchered the savage 
a few minutes before advanced towards the girl with his 
heavy club. Jack uttered a yell that rang like a death- 
shriek among the rocks. With one bound he leaped over 
a precipice full fifteen feet high, and before the savages 
had recovered from their surprise, was in the midst of 
them; while Peterkin and I dashed through the bushes 
towards the prisoners. With one blow of his staff Jack 
felled the man with the club; then, turning round with a 


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look of fury, he rushed upon the big chief with the yellow 
hair. Had the blow which Jack aimed at his head taken 
effect, the huge savage would have needed no second 
stroke; but he was agile as a cat, and avoided it by 
springing to one side, while at the same time he swung 
his ponderous club at the head of his foe. It was now 
Jack’s turn to leap aside, and well was it for him that the 
first outburst of his blind fury was over, else he had 
become an easy prey to his gigantic antagonist; but Jack 
was cool now. He darted his blows rapidly and well, and 
the superiority of his light weapon was strikingly proved 
in this combat; for while he could easily evade the blows 
of the chief’s heavy club, the chief could not so easily 
evade those of his light one. Nevertheless, so quick was 
he, and so frightfully did he fling about the mighty 
weapon, that although Jack struck him almost every 
blow, the strokes had to be delivered so quickly that they 
wanted force to be very effectual. 

It was lucky for Jack that the other savages considered 
the success of their chief in this encounter to be so certain 
that they refrained from interfering. Had they doubted 
it, they would have probably ended the matter at once by 
felling him. But they contented themselves with awaiting 
the issue. 

The force which the chief expended in wielding his 
club now began to be apparent. His movements became 
slower, his breath hissed through his clinched teeth, and 
the surprised savages drew nearer in order to render 
assistance. Jack observed this movement. He felt that 
his fate was sealed, and resolved to cast his life upon the 


176 


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next blow. The chief’s club was again about to descend 
on his head. He might have evaded it easily, but instead 
of doing so, he suddenly shortened his grasp of his own 
club, rushed in under the blow, struck his adversary right 
between the eyes with all his force, and fell to the earth, 
crushed beneath the senseless body of the chief. A dozen 
clubs flew high in air, ready to descend on the head 
of Jack; but they hesitated a moment, for the massive 
body of the chief completely covered him. That moment 
saved his life. Ere the savages could tear the chief’s body 
away, seven of their number fell prostrate beneath the 
clubs of the prisoners whom Peter kin and I had set free, 
and two others fell under our own hand. We could never 
have accomplished this had not our enemies been so 
engrossed with the fight between Jack and their chief 
that they had failed to observe us until we were upon 
them. They still outnumbered our party by three; but 
we were flushed with victory, while they were taken by 
surprise and dispirited by the fall of their chief. More¬ 
over, they were awe-struck by the sweeping fury of Jack, 
who seemed to have lost his senses altogether, and had no 
sooner shaken himself free of the chief’s body than he 
rushed into the midst of them, and in three blows equalized 
our numbers. Peterkin and I flew to the rescue, the 
savages followed us, and in less than ten minutes the whole 
of our opponents were knocked down or made prisoners, 
bound hand and foot, and extended side by side upon the 
sea-shore. 

After the battle was over, the savages crowded round 
us and gazed at us in surprise, while they continued to 


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pour upon us a flood of questions, which, being wholly 
unintelligible, of course we could not answer. However, 
by way of putting an end to it, Jack took the chief (who 
had recovered from the effects of his wound) by the hand 
and shook it warmly. No sooner did the blacks see that 
this was meant to express good-will than they shook hands 
with us all round. After this ceremony was gone through, 
Jack went up to the girl, who had never once moved from 
the rock where she had been left, but had continued an 
eager spectator of all that had passed. He made signs to 
her to follow him, and then, taking the chief by the hand, 
was about to conduct him to the bower, when his eye fell 
on the poor infant which had been thrown into the sea and 
was still lying on the shore. Dropping the chief’s hand, he 
hastened towards it, and, to his great joy, found it to be 
still alive. We also found that the mother was beginning 
to recover slowly. 

‘‘Here, get out o’ the way,” said Jack, pushing us 
aside, as we stooped over the poor woman and endeavoured 
to restore her; “ I’ll soon bring her round.” So saying, 
he placed the infant on her bosom and laid its warm 
cheek on hers. The effect was wonderful. The woman 
opened her eyes, felt the child, looked at it, and with a 
cry of joy clasped it in her arms, at the same time en¬ 
deavouring to rise, for the purpose, apparently, of rushing 
into the woods. 

“ There, that’s all right,” said Jack, once more taking 
the chief by the hand. “ Now, Ralph and Peterkin, make 
the women and these fellows follow me to the bower. 
We’Ll entertain them as hospitably as we can.” 


178 


Coral Island 


In a few minutes the savages were all seated on the 
ground in front of the bower making a hearty meal off a 
cold roast pig, several ducks, and a variety of cold fish, 
together with an unlimited supply of cocoa-nuts, bread¬ 
fruits, yams, taro, and plums; with all of which they 
seemed to be quite familiar and perfectly satisfied. 

Meanwhile, we three, being thoroughly knocked up with 
our day’s work, took a good draught of cocoa-nut lemon¬ 
ade, and, throwing ourselves on our beds, fell fast asleep. 
The savages, it seems, followed our example, and in half- 
an-hour the whole camp was buried in repose. 

How long we slept I cannot tell, but this I know, that 
when we lay down the sun was setting, and when we awoke 
it was high in the heavens. I awoke Jack, who started up 
in surprise, being unable at first to comprehend our situa¬ 
tion. “ Now then,” said he, springing up, “ let’s see after 
breakfast. Hallo, Peterkin, lazy fellow! how long do 
you mean to lie there? ” 

Peterkin yawned heavily. “ Well,” said he, opening 
his eyes and looking up after some trouble, “if it isn’t 
to-morrow morning, and me thinking it was to-day all 
this time! Hallo, Venus, where did you come from? 
You seem tolerably at home, anyhow! Bah! might as 
well speak to the cat as to you — better, in fact, for it 
understands me, and you don’t.” 

This remark was called forth by the sight of one of the 
elderly females, who had seated herself on the rock in 
front of the bower, and having placed her child at her 
feet, was busily engaged in devouring the remains of a 
roast pig. 


Coral Island 


179 


By this time the natives outside were all astir, and 
breakfast in an advanced state of preparation. During 
the course of it we made sundry attempts to converse with 
the natives by signs, but without effect. At last we hit 
upon a plan of discovering their names. Jack pointed to 
his breast and said “ Jack ” very distinctly; then he 
pointed to Peterkin and to me, repeating our names at the 
same time. Then he pointed to himself again and said 
“ Jack,” and laying his finger on the breast of the chief, 
looked inquiringly into his face. The chief instantly 
understood him, and said “ Tararo ” twice distinctly. 
Jack repeated it after him, and the chief, nodding his head 
approvingly, said “ Chuck,” on hearing which Peterkin 
exploded with laughter; but Jack turned, and with a 
frown rebuked him, saying: “ I must look even more in¬ 
dignantly at you than I feel, Peterkin, you rascal, for these 
fellows don’t like to be laughed at.” Then turning 
towards the youngest of the women, who was seated at 
the door of the bower, he pointed to her; whereupon the 
chief said “ Avatea,” and pointing towards the sun, raised 
his finger slowly towards the zenith, where it remained 
steadily for a minute or two. 

“ What can that mean, I wonder? ” said Jack, looking 
puzzled. 

“ Perhaps,” said Peterkin, “ the chief means she is an 
angel come down to stay here for a while. If so, she’s an 
uncommonly black one! ” 

We did not feel quite satisfied with this explanation, so 
Jack went up to her and said “ Avatea.” The woman 
smiled sadly, and nodded her head, at the same time 


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pointing to her breast and then to the sun, in the same 
manner as the chief had done. We were much puzzled 
to know what this could signify, but as there was no way 
of solving our difficulty we were obliged to rest content. 

Jack now made signs to the natives to follow him, and 
taking up his axe, he led them to a place where the battle 
had been fought. Here we found the prisoners, who had 
passed the night on the beach, having been totally for¬ 
gotten by us, as our minds had been full of our guests, 
and were ultimately overcome by sleep. They did not 
seem the worse for their exposure, however, as we judged 
by the hearty appetite with which they devoured the 
breakfast that was soon after given to them. Jack then 
began to dig a hole in the sand, and after working a few 
seconds, he pointed to it and to the dead bodies that lay 
exposed on the beach. The natives immediately per¬ 
ceived what he wanted, and running for their paddles, 
dug a hole in the course of half-an-hour that was quite 
large enough to contain all the bodies of the slain. When 
it was finished they tossed their dead enemies into it with 
so much indifference that we felt assured they would not 
have put themselves to this trouble had we not asked 
them to do so. The body of the yellow-haired chief was 
the last thrown in. This wretched man would have re¬ 
covered from the blow with which Jack felled him, and, 
indeed, he did endeavour to rise during the melee that 
followed his fall; but one of his enemies, happening to 
notice the action, dealt him a blow with his club that 
killed him on the spot. 

While they were about to throw the sand over this 


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181 


chief, one of the savages stooped over him, and with a 
knife, made apparently of stone, cut a large slice of flesh 
from his thigh. We knew at once that he intended to 
make use of this for food, and could not repress a cry of 
horror and disgust. 

“Come, come, you blackguard!” cried Jack, starting 
up and seizing the man by the arm, “ pitch that into the 
hole. Do you hear? ” 

The savage, of course, did not understand the com¬ 
mand, but he perfectly understood the look of disgust 
with which Jack regarded the flesh, and his fierce gaze as 
he pointed towards the hole. Nevertheless, he did not 
obey. Jack instantly turned to Tararo and made signs 
to him to enforce obedience. The chief seemed to under¬ 
stand the appeal, for he stepped forward, raised his club, 
and was on the point of dashing out the brains of his 
offending subject, when Jack sprang forward and caught 
his uplifted arm. 

“Stop,” he shouted, “you blockhead! I don’t want 
you to kill the man.” He then pointed again to the flesh 
and to the hole. The chief uttered a few words, which 
had the desired effect; for the man threw the flesh into 
the hole, which was immediately filled up. This man 
was of a morose, sulky disposition, and during all the 
time he remained on the island, regarded us, especially 
Jack, with a scowling visage. His name, we found, was 
Mahine. 

The next three or four days were spent by the savages 
in mending their canoe, which had been damaged by the 
violent shock it had sustained on striking the shore. This 


182 


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canoe was a very curious structure. It was about thirty 
feet long, and had a high, towering stern. The timbers 
of which it was partly composed, were fastened much in 
the same way as those of our little boat were put together; 
but the part that seemed most curious to us was a sort of 
outrigger, or long plank, which was attached to the body 
of the canoe by means of two stout cross-beams. These 
beams kept the plank parallel with the canoe, but not in 
contact with it, for it floated in the water with an open 
space between; thus forming a sort of double canoe. 
This we found was intended to prevent the upsetting of 
the canoe, which was so narrow that it could not have 
maintained an upright position without the outrigger. 
We could not help wondering both at the ingenuity and 
the clumsiness of this contrivance. 

When the canoe was ready, we assisted the natives to 
carry the prisoners into it, and helped them to load it 
with provisions and fruit. Peterkin also went to the 
plum tree for the purpose of making a special onslaught 
upon the hogs, and killed no less than six of them. These 
we baked and presented to our friends on the day of 
their departure. On that day Tararo made a great many 
energetic signs to us, which, after much consideration, we 
came to understand were proposals that we should go away 
with him to his island; but having no desire to do so, we 
shook our heads very decidedly. However, we consoled 
him by presenting him with our rusty axe, which we 
thought we could spare, having the excellent one which 
had been so providentially washed ashore to us the day 
we were wrecked. We also gave him a piece of wood with 


Coral Island 


183 


our names carved on it, and a piece of string to hang it 
round his neck as an ornament. 

In a few minutes more we were all assembled on the 
beach. Being unable to speak to the savages, we went 
through the ceremony of shaking hands, and expected 
they would depart; but before doing so, Tararo went up 
to Jack and rubbed noses with him, after which he did 
the same with Peterkin and me! Seeing that this was 
their mode of salutation, we determined to conform to 
their custom, so we rubbed noses heartily with the whole 
party, women and all! The only disagreeable part of the 
process was when we came to rub noses with Mahine, and 
Peterkin afterwards said that when he saw his wolfish eyes 
glaring so close to his face, he felt much more inclined to 
bang than to rub his nose. Avatea was the last to take 
leave of us, and we experienced a feeling of real sorrow 
when she approached to bid us farewell. Besides her 
modest air and gentle manners, she was the only one of 
the party who exhibited the smallest sign of regret at 
parting from us. Going up to Jack, she put out her flat 
little nose to be rubbed, and thereafter paid the same 
compliment to Peterkin and me. 

An hour later the canoe was out of sight, and we, with 
an indefinable feeling of sadness creeping round our hearts, 
were seated in silence beneath the shadow of our bower, 
meditating on the wonderful events of the last few days. 


CHAPTER XII 

A sail! — A terrible dive — A frightful catastrophe — 
Pirates — A melancholy separation. 

L IFE is a strange compound. Peterkin used to say of 
it that it beat a druggist’s shop all to sticks; for 
whereas the first is a compound of good and bad, the 
other is a horrible compound of all that is utterly detest¬ 
able. And indeed the more I consider it the more I am 
struck with the strange mixture of good and evil that 
exists not only in the material earth but in our own 
natures. In our own Coral Island we had experienced 
every variety of good that a bountiful Creator could heap 
on us. Yet on the night of the storm we had seen how 
almost, in our case — and altogether, no doubt, in the case 
of others less fortunate — all this good might be swept 
away for ever. We had seen the rich fruit-trees waving 
in the soft air, the tender herbs shooting upwards under 
the benign influence of the bright sun; and the next day 
we had seen these good and beautiful trees and plants 
uprooted by the hurricane, crushed and hurled to the 
ground in destructive devastation. We had lived for 
many months in a clime for the most part so beautiful 
that we had often wondered whether Adam and Eve had 
found Eden more sweet; and we had seen the quiet soli¬ 
tudes of our paradise suddenly broken in upon by ferocious 


Coral Island 


185 


savages, and the white sands stained with blood and 
strewed with lifeless forms; yet among these cannibals we 
had seen many symptoms of a kindly nature. I pondered 
these things much, and while I considered them there 
recurred to my memory those words which I had read in 
my Bible — “ The works of God are wonderful, and His 
ways past finding out.” 

After these poor savages had left us we used to hold 
long and frequent conversations about them, and I 
noticed that Peterkin’s manner was now much altered. 
He did not, indeed, jest less heartily than before, but 
he did so less frequently, and often there was a tone of 
deep seriousness in his manner, if not in his words, which 
made him seem to Jack and me as if he had grown two 
years older within a few days. But indeed I was not 
surprised at this, when I reflected on the awful realities 
which we had witnessed so lately. 

One day we were all enjoying ourselves in the Water 
Garden, preparatory to going on a fishing excursion; for 
Peterkin had kept us in such constant supply of hogs 
that we had become quite tired of pork, and desired a 
change. Peterkin was sunning himself on the ledge of 
rock, while we were creeping among the rocks below. 
Happening to look up, I observed Peterkin cutting the 
most extraordinary capers and making violent gesticula¬ 
tions for us to come up; so I gave Jack a push and rose 
immediately. 

“ A sail! a sail! — Ralph, look; Jack, away on the 
horizon there, just over the entrance to the lagoon! ” 
cried Peterkin, as we scrambled up the rocks. 


186 


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“ So it is, and a schooner, too! ” said Jack, as he pro¬ 
ceeded hastily to dress. 

Our hearts were thrown into a terrible flutter by this 
discovery, for if it should touch at our island we had no 
doubt the captain would be happy to give us a passage to 
some of the civilised islands, where we could find a ship 
sailing for England, or some other part of Europe. Home, 
with all its associations, rushed in upon my heart like a 
flood; and much though I loved the Coral Island and 
the bower, which had now been our home so long, I felt 
that I could have quitted all at that moment without a 
sigh. With joyful anticipations we hastened to the 
highest point of rock near our dwelling, and awaited the 
arrival of the vessel; for we now perceived that she was 
making straight for the island, under a steady breeze. 

In less than an hour she was close to the reef, where 
she rounded to and backed her topsails, in order to survey 
the coast. Seeing this, and fearing that they might not 
perceive us, we all three waved pieces of cocoa-nut cloth 
in the air, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing them 
beginning to lower a boat and bustle about the decks as 
if they meant to land. Suddenly a flag was run up to 
the peak, a little cloud of white smoke rose from the 
schooner’s side, and before we could guess their intentions, 
a cannon-shot came crashing through the bushes, carried 
away several cocoa-nut trees in its passage, and burst in 
atoms against the cliff a few yards below the spot on 
which we stood. 

With feelings of terror we now observed that the flag 
at the schooner’s peak was black, with a Death’s-head 


Coral Island 


187 


and cross-bones upon it. As we gazed at each other in 
blank amazement, the word “ pirate ” escaped our lips 
simultaneously. 

“ What is to be done? ” cried Peterkin, as we observed 
a boat shoot from the vessel’s side and make for the 
entrance of the reef. “ If they take us off the island, it 
will either be to throw us overboard for sport, or to make 
pirates of us.” 

I did not reply, but looked at Jack, as being our only 
resource in this emergency. He stood with folded arms, 
and his eyes fixed with a grave, anxious expression on 
the ground. “ There is but one hope,” said he, turning 
with a sad expression of countenance to Peterkin; “ per¬ 
haps, after all, we may not have to resort to it. If these 
villains are anxious to take us, they will soon overrun 
the whole island. But come, follow me.” 

Stopping abruptly in his speech, Jack bounded into 
the woods, and led us by a circuitous route to Spouting 
Cliff. Here he halted, and, advancing cautiously to the 
rocks, glanced over their edge. We were soon by his 
side, and saw the boat, which was crowded with armed 
men, just touching the shore. In an instant the crew 
landed, formed line, and rushed up to our bower. 

In a few seconds we saw them hurrying back to the 
boat, one of them swinging the poor cat round his head 
by the tail. On reaching the water’s edge, he tossed it 
far into the sea, and joined his companions, who appeared 
to be holding a hasty council. 

“ You see what we may expect,” said Jack bitterly. 
“ The man who will wantonly kill a poor brute for sport 


188 


Coral Island 


will think little of murdering a fellow-creature. Now, 
boys, we have but one chance left — the Diamond Cave.” 

“The Diamond Cave!” cried Peterkin; “then my 
chance is a poor one, for I could not dive into it if all the 
pirates on the Pacific were at my heels.” 

“ Nay, but,” said I, “ we will take you down, Peterkin, 
if you will only trust us.” 

As I spoke, we observed the pirates scatter over the 
beach, and radiate, as if from a centre, towards the woods 
and along shore. 

“ Now, Peterkin,” said Jack in a solemn tone, “ you 
must make up your mind to do it, or we must make up 
our minds to die in your company.” 

“ O Jack, my dear friend,” cried Peterkin, turning pale, 
“ leave me; I don’t believe they’ll think it worth while 
to kill me. Go, you and Ralph, and dive into the cave.” 

“ That will not I,” answered Jack quietly, while he 
picked up a stout cudgel from the ground. — “So now, 
Ralph, we must prepare to meet these fellows. Their 
motto is, ‘No quarter.’ If we can manage to floor those 
coming in this direction, we may escape into the woods 
for a while.” 

“ There are five of them,” said I; “we have no chance.” 

“ Come, then,” cried Peterkin, starting up, and grasp¬ 
ing Jack convulsively by the arm, “ let us dive; I will 
go.” 

Those who are not naturally expert in the water know 
well the feelings of horror that overwhelm them, when in 
it, at the bare idea of being held down even for a few 
seconds — that spasmodic, involuntary recoil from com- 


Coral Island 


189 


pulsory immersion which has no connection whatever 
with cowardice; and they will understand the amount 
of resolution that it required in Peterkin to allow him¬ 
self to be dragged down to a depth of ten feet, and then, 
through a narrow tunnel, into an almost pitch-dark 
cavern. But there was no alternative. The pirates had 
already caught sight of us, and were now within a short 
distance of the rocks. 

Jack and I seized Peterkin by the arms. 

“ Now, keep quite still; no struggling,” said Jack, “ or 
we are lost.” 

Peterkin made no reply, but the stern gravity of his 
marble features, and the tension of his muscles, satisfied 
us that he had fully made up his mind to go through 
with it. Just as the pirates gained the foot of the rocks, 
which hid us for a moment from their view, we bent 
over the sea, and plunged down together head foremost. 
Peterkin behaved like a hero. He floated passively be¬ 
tween us like a log of wood, and we passed the tunnel and 
rose into the cave in a shorter space of time than I had 
ever done it before. 

Peterkin drew a long, deep breath on reaching the 
surface, and in a few seconds we were all standing on the 
ledge of rock in safety. Jack now searched for the tinder 
and torch which always lay in the cave. He soon found 
them, and, lighting the torch, revealed to Peterkin’s 
wondering gaze the marvels of the place. But we were 
too wet to waste much time in looking about us. Our 
first care was to take off our clothes and wring them as 
dry as we could. This done, we proceeded to examine 


190 


Coral Island 


into the state of our larder, for, as Jack truly remarked, 
there was no knowing how long the pirates might remain 
on the island. 

“ Perhaps,” said Peterkin, “ they may take it into their 
heads to stop here altogether, and so we shall be buried 
alive in this place.” 

“ Don’t you think, Peterkin, that it’s the nearest thing 
to being drowned alive that you ever felt? ” said Jack 
with a smile. “ But I have no fear of that. These 
villains never stay long on shore. The sea is their home, 
so you may depend upon it that they won’t stay more 
than a day or two at the furthest.” 

We now began to make arrangements for spending the 
night in the cavern. At various periods Jack and I had 
conveyed cocoa-nuts and other fruits, besides rolls of 
cocoa-nut cloth, to this submarine cave, partly for amuse¬ 
ment, and partly from a feeling that we might possibly 
be driven one day to take shelter here from the savages. 
Little did we imagine that the first savages who would 
drive us into it would be white savages, perhaps our own 
countrymen. We found the cocoa-nuts in good condition, 
and the cooked yams, but the bread-fruits were spoiled. 
We also found the cloth where we had left it, and on 
opening it out there proved to be sufficient to make a 
bed; which was important, as the rock was damp. Hav¬ 
ing collected it all together, we spread out our bed, placed 
our torch in the midst of us, and ate our supper. It was 
indeed a strange chamber to feast in; and we could not 
help remarking on the cold, ghastly appearance of the 
walls, and the black water at our side, with the thick 


Coral Island 


191 


darkness beyond, and the sullen sound of the drops that 
fell at long intervals from the roof of the cavern into the 
still water, and the strong contrast between all this and 
our bed and supper, which, with our faces, were lit up 
with the deep red flame of the torch. 

We sat long over our meal, talking together in sub¬ 
dued voices, for we did not like the dismal echoes that 
rang through the vault above when we happened to raise 
them. At last the faint light that came through the 
opening died away, warning us that it was night and 
time for rest. We therefore put out our torch and lay 
down to sleep. 

On awaking, it was some time ere we could collect our 
faculties so as to remember where we were, and we were 
in much uncertainty as to whether it was early or late. 
We saw by the faint light that it was day, but could not 
guess at the hour; so Jack proposed that he should dive 
out and reconnoitre. 

“ No, Jack,” said I; “do you rest here. You’ve had 
enough to do during the last few days. Rest yourself 
now, and take care of Peterkin, while I go out to see 
what the pirates are about. I’ll be very careful not to 
expose myself, and I’ll bring you word again in a short 
time.” 

“ Very well, Ralph,” answered Jack, “ please yourself, 
but don’t be long; and if you’ll take my advice you’ll go 
in your clothes, for I would like to have some fresh cocoa- 
nuts, and climbing trees without clothes is uncomfortable, 
to say the least of it.” 


192 


Coral Island 


“ The pirates will be sure to keep a sharp look-out,” 
said Peterkin, “ so, be careful.” 

“ No fear,” said I; “ good-bye.” 

“ Good-bye,” answered my comrades. 

And while the words were yet sounding in my ears, I 
plunged into the water, and in a few seconds found myself 
in the open air. On rising, I was careful to come up 
gently and to breathe softly, while I kept close in beside 
the rocks; but as I observed no one near me, I crept 
slowly out, and ascended the cliff a step at a time, till I 
obtained a full view of the shore. No pirates were to be 
seen — even their boat was gone; but as it was possible 
they might have hidden themselves, I did not venture too 
boldly forward. Then it occurred to me to look out to 
sea, when, to my surprise, I saw the pirate schooner sailing 
away almost hull down on the horizon! On seeing this I 
uttered a shout of joy. Then my first impulse was to 
dive back to tell my companions the good news; but I 
checked myself, and ran to the top of the cliff, in order to 
make sure that the vessel I saw was indeed the pirate 
schooner. I looked long and anxiously at her, and giving 
vent to a deep sigh of relief, said aloud, “ Yes, there she 
goes; the villains have been balked of their prey this 
time at least.” 

“ Not so sure of that! ” said a deep voice at my side, 
while at the same moment a heavy hand grasped my 
shoulder, and held it as if in a vice. 

My heart seemed to leap into my throat at the words; 
and turning round, I beheld a man of immense stature 
and fierce aspect regarding me with a smile of contempt. 


Coral Island 


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He was a white man — that is to say, he was a man of 
European blood, though his face, from long exposure to 
the weather, was deeply bronzed. His dress was that of 
a common seaman, except that he had on a Greek skull¬ 
cap, and wore a broad shawl of the richest silk round his 
waist. In this shawl were placed two pairs of pistols and 
a heavy cutlass. He wore a beard and moustache, which, 
like the locks on his head, were short, curly, and sprinkled 
with grey hairs. 

“ So, youngster,” he said with a sardonic smile, while 
I felt his grasp tighten on my shoulder, “ the villains have 
been balked of their prey, have they? We shall see, we 
shall see. Now, you whelp, look yonder.” As he spoke, 
the pirate uttered a shrill whistle. In a second or two it 
was answered, and the pirate boat rowed round the point 
at the Water Garden, and came rapidly towards us. 
“ Now, go, make a fire on that point; and hark’ee, 
youngster, if you try to run away, I’ll send a quick and 
sure messenger after you,” and he pointed significantly at 
his pistols. 

I obeyed in silence, and as I happened to have the 
burning-glass in my pocket, a fire was speedily kindled, 
and a thick smoke ascended into the air. It had scarcely 
appeared for two minutes when the boom of a gun rolled 
over the sea, and looking up, I saw that the schooner was 
making for the island again. It now flashed across me 
that this was a ruse on the part of the pirates, and that 
they had sent their vessel away, knowing that it would 
lead us to suppose that they had left altogether. But 
there was no use of regret now. I was completely in 


194 


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their power, so I stood helplessly beside the pirate watch¬ 
ing the crew of the boat as they landed on the beach. 
For an instant I contemplated rushing over the cliff into 
the sea; but this I saw I could not now accomplish, as 
some of the men were already between me and the 
water. 

There was a good deal of jesting at the success of their 
scheme, as the crew ascended the rocks and addressed the 
man who had captured me by the title of captain. They 
were a ferocious set of men, with shaggy beards and scowl¬ 
ing brows. All of them were armed with cutlasses and 
pistols, and their costumes were, with trifling variations, 
similar to that of the captain. As I looked from one to 
the other, and observed the low, scowling brows that 
never unbent, even when the men laughed, and the mean, 
rascally expression that sat on each face, I felt that my 
life hung by a hair. 

“ But where are the other cubs? ” cried one of the 
men, with an oath that made me shudder. “I'll swear 
to it there were three, at least, if not more.” 

“ You hear what he says, whelp: where are the other 
dogs? ” said the captain. 

“ If you mean my companions,” said I in a low voice, 
“ I won’t tell you.” 

A loud laugh burst from the crew at this answer. 

The pirate captain looked at me in surprise. Then 
drawing a pistol from his belt, he cocked it and said, 
“ Now, youngster, listen to me. I’ve no time to waste 
here. If you don’t tell me all you know. I’ll blow your 
brains out! Where are your comrades? ” 


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195 


For an instant I hesitated, not knowing what to do in 
this extremity. Suddenly a thought occurred to me. 

“ Villain,” said I, shaking my clenched fist in his face, 
“ to blow my brains out would make short work of me, 
and be soon over; death by drowning is as sure, and the 
agony prolonged: yet I tell you to your face, if you were 
to toss me over yonder cliff into the sea, I would not tell 
you where my companions are, and I dare you to try 
me!” 

The pirate captain grew white with rage as I spoke. 
“ Say you so? ” cried he, uttering a fierce oath. — “ Here, 
lads, take him by the legs and heave him in — quick! ” 

The men, who were utterly silenced with surprise at my 
audacity, advanced and seized me, and as they carried me 
towards the cliff I congratulated myself not a little on the 
success of my scheme; for I knew that once in the water 
I should be safe, and could rejoin Jack and Peterkin in 
the cave. But my hopes were suddenly blasted by the 
captain crying out, “ Hold on, lads, hold on! We’ll give 
him a taste of the thumb-screws before throwing him to 
the sharks. Away with him into the boat. Look alive! 
the breeze is freshening.” 

The men instantly raised me shoulder high, and hurry¬ 
ing down the rocks, tossed me into the bottom of the 
boat, where I lay for some time stunned with the violence 
of my fall. 

On recovering sufficiently to raise myself on my elbow, 
I perceived that we were already outside the coral reef, 
and close alongside the schooner, which was of small size 
and clipper built. I had only time to observe this much. 


196 


Coral Island 


when I received a severe kick on the side from one of the 
men, who ordered me, in a rough voice, to jump aboard. 
Rising hastily, I clambered up the side. In a few minutes 
the boat was hoisted on deck, the vessel’s head put close 
to the wind, and the Coral Island dropped slowly astern 
as we beat up against a head sea. 

Immediately after coming aboard, the crew were too 
busily engaged in working the ship and getting in the 
boat to attend to me, so I remained leaning against the 
bulwarks close to the gangway, watching their operations. 
I was surprised to find that there were no guns or carron- 
ades of any kind in the vessel, which had more the appear¬ 
ance of a fast-sailing trader than a pirate. But I was 
struck with the neatness of everything. The brass work 
of the binnacle and about the tiller, as well as the copper 
belaying-pins, were as brightly polished as if they had 
just come from the foundry. The decks were pure white, 
and smooth. The masts were clean-scraped and varnished 
except at the cross-trees and truck, which were painted 
black. The standing and running rigging was in the 
most perfect order, and the sails white as snow. In short, 
everything, from the single narrow red stripe on her low, 
black hull to the trucks on her tapering masts, evinced 
an amount of care and strict discipline that would have 
done credit to a ship of the Royal Navy. There was 
nothing lumbering or unseemly about the vessel, except¬ 
ing, perhaps, a boat, which lay on the deck with its keel 
up between the fore and main masts. It seemed dispro¬ 
portionately large for the schooner; but when I saw that 
the crew amounted to between thirty and forty men, I 


Coral Island 


197 


concluded that this boat was held in reserve in case of any 
accident compelling the crew to desert the vessel. 

As I have before said, the costumes of the men were 
similar to that of the captain. But in head-gear they 
differed not only from him but from each other, some 
wearing the ordinary straw hat of the merchant service, 
while others wore cloth caps and red worsted night-caps. 
I observed that all their arms were sent below, the captain 
only retaining his cutlass and a single pistol in the folds 
of his shawl. Although the captain was the tallest and 
most powerful man in the ship, he did not strikingly 
excel many of his men in this respect; and the only differ¬ 
ence that an ordinary observer would have noticed was a 
certain degree of open candour, straightforward daring, 
in the bold, ferocious expression of his face, which rendered 
him less repulsive than his low-browed associates, but did 
not by any means induce the belief that he was a hero. 
This look was, however, the indication of that spirit which 
gave him the pre-eminence among the crew of desperadoes 
who called him captain. He was a lion-like villain, totally 
devoid of personal fear, and utterly reckless of conse¬ 
quences, and therefore a terror to his men, who individu¬ 
ally hated him, but unitedly felt it to be to their advantage 
to have him at their head. 

But my thoughts soon reverted to the dear companions 
whom I had left on shore, and as I turned towards the 
Coral Island, which was now far away to leeward, I 
sighed deeply, and the tears rolled slowly down my cheeks 
as I thought that I might never see them more. 

“ So you’re blubbering, are you, you obstinate whelp? ” 


198 


Coral Island 


said the deep voice of the captain, as he came up and 
gave me a box on the ear that nearly felled me to the 
deck. “ I don’t allow any such weakness aboard o’ this 
ship. So clap a stopper on your eyes, or I’ll give you 
something to cry for.” 

I flushed with indignation at this rough and cruel 
treatment, but felt that giving way to anger would only 
make matters worse, so I made no reply, but took out my 
handkerchief and dried my eyes. 

“ I thought you were made of better stuff,” continued 
the captain angrily. “I’d rather have a mad bulldog 
aboard than a water-eyed puppy. But I’ll cure you, lad, 
or introduce you to the sharks before long. Now go 
below, and stay there till I call you.” 

As I walked forward to obey, my eye fell on a small 
keg standing by the side of the main-mast, on which the 
word gunpowder was written in pencil. It immediately 
flashed across me that, as we were beating up against the 
wind, anything floating in the sea would be driven on the 
reef encircling the Coral Island. I also recollected — for 
thought is more rapid than the lightning — that my old 
companions had a pistol. Without a moment’s hesitation, 
therefore, I lifted the keg from the deck and tossed it into 
the sea! An exclamation of surprise burst from the 
captain and some of the men who witnessed this act of 
mine. 

Striding up to me, and uttering fearful imprecations, 
the captain raised his hand to strike me, while he shouted, 
“ Boy! whelp! what mean you by that? ” 

“ If you lower your hand,” said I in a loud voice, while 


Coral Island 


199 


I felt the blood rush to my temples, “I’ll tell you. Until 
you do so I’m dumb.” 

The captain stepped back and regarded me with a look 
of amazement. 

“ Now,” continued I, “ I threw that keg into the sea 
because the wind and waves will carry it to my friends on 
the Coral Island, who happen to have a pistol, but no 
powder. I hope that it will reach them soon; and my 
only regret is that the keg was not a bigger one. More¬ 
over, pirate, you said just now that you thought I was 
made of better stuff. I don’t know what stuff I am made 
of — I never thought much about that subject — but I’m 
quite certain of this, that I am made of such stuff as the 
like of you shall never tame, though you should do your 
worst.” 

To my surprise the captain, instead of flying into a 
rage, smiled, and thrusting his hand into the voluminous 
shawl that encircled his waist, turned on his heel and 
walked aft, while I went below. 

Here, instead of being rudely handled, as I had ex¬ 
pected, the men received me with a shout of laughter, 
and one of them, patting me on the back, said, “ Well 
done, lad! you’re a brick, and I have no doubt will turn 
out a rare cove. Bloody Bill there was just such a fellow 
as you are, and he’s now the biggest cut-throat of us 
all.” 

“ Take a can of beer, lad,” cried another, “ and wet 
your whistle after that speech o’ your’n to the captain. 
If any one o’ us had made it, youngster, he would have 
had no whistle to wet by this time.” 


200 


Coral Island 


“ Stop your clapper, Jack,” vociferated a third. “ Give 
the boy a junk o’ meat. Don’t you see he’s a’most going 
to kick the bucket? ” 

“ And no wonder,” said the first speaker with an oath, 
“ after the tumble you gave him into the boat. I guess 
it would have broke your neck if you had got it.” 

I did indeed feel somewhat faint, which was owing, 
doubtless, to the combined effects of ill-usage and hunger; 
for it will be recollected that I had dived out of the cave 
that morning before breakfast, and it was now near mid¬ 
day. I therefore gladly accepted a plate of boiled pork 
and a yam, which were handed to me by one of the men 
from the locker on which some of the crew were seated 
eating their dinner. But I must add that the zest with 
which I ate my meal was much abated in consequence of 
the frightful oaths and the terrible language that flowed 
from the lips of these godless men, even in the midst of 
their hilarity and good-humour. The man who had been 
alluded to as Bloody Bill was seated near me, and I could 
not help wondering at the moody silence he maintained 
among his comrades. He did indeed reply to their 
questions in a careless off-hand tone, but he never volun¬ 
teered a remark. The only difference between him and 
the others was his taciturnity and his size, for he was 
nearly, if not quite, as large a man as the captain. 

During the remainder of the afternoon I was left to my 
own reflections, which were anything but agreeable; for 
I could not banish from my mind the threat about the 
thumb-screws, of the nature and use of which I had a 
vague but terrible conception. I was still meditating on 


Coral Island 


201 


my unhappy fate, when, just after nightfall, one of the 
watch on deck called down the hatchway — 

“Hallo there! one o’ you tumble up and light the 
cabin lamp, and send that boy aft to the captain — 
sharp! ” 

“Now then, do you hear, youngster? the captain wants 
you. Look alive,” said Bloody Bill, raising his huge 
frame from the locker on which he had been asleep for 
the last two hours. He sprang up the ladder, and I in¬ 
stantly followed him, and going aft was shown into the 
cabin by one of the men, who closed the door after me. 

A small silver lamp which hung from a beam threw a 
dim, soft light over the cabin, which was a small apart¬ 
ment, and comfortably but plainly furnished. Seated on 
a camp-stool at the table, and busily engaged in examin¬ 
ing a chart of the Pacific, was the captain, who looked up 
as I entered, and in a quiet voice bade me be seated, while 
he threw down his pencil, and rising from the table, 
stretched himself on a sofa at the upper end of the cabin. 

“ Boy,” said he, looking me full in the face, “ what is 
your name? ” 

“ Ralph Rover,” I replied. 

“ Where did you come from, and how came you to be 
on that island? How many companions had you on it? 
Answer me, now, and mind you tell no lies.” 

“ I never tell lies,” said I firmly. 

The captain received this reply with a cold, sarcastic 
smile, and bade me answer his questions. 

I then told him the history of myself and my companions 
from the time we sailed till the day of his visit to the 


202 


Coral Island 


island, taking care, however, to make no mention of the 
Diamond Cave. After I had concluded, he was silent for 
a few minutes; then looking up, he said, “ Boy, I believe 
you.” 

I was surprised at this remark, for I could not imagine 
why he should not believe me. However, I made no 
reply. 

“ And what,” continued the captain, “ makes you think 
that this schooner is a pirate? ” 

“ The black flag,” said I, “ showed me what you are; 
and if any further proof were wanting, I have had it in 
the brutal treatment I have received at your hands.” 

The captain frowned as I spoke, but subduing his anger 
he continued, “ Boy, you are too bold. I admit that we 
treated you roughly, but that was because you made us 
lose time and gave us a good deal of trouble. As to the 
black flag, that is merely a joke that my fellows play off 
upon people sometimes in order to frighten them. It is 
their humour, and does no harm. I am no pirate, boy, 
but a lawful trader — a rough one, I grant you, but one 
can’t help that in these seas, where there are so many 
pirates on the water and such murderous blackguards on 
the land. I carry on a trade in sandal-wood with the 
Feejee Islands; and if you choose, Ralph, to behave your¬ 
self and be a good boy, I’ll take you along with me and 
give you a good share of the profits. You see I’m in want 
of an honest boy like you to look after the cabin and keep 
the log and superintend the traffic on shore sometimes. 
What say you, Ralph: would you like to become a sandal¬ 
wood trader? ” 


Coral Island 


203 


I was much surprised by this explanation, and a good 
deal relieved to find that the vessel, after all, was not a 
pirate; but, instead of replying, I said, “If it be as you 
state, then why did you take me from my island, and why 
do you not now take me back? ” 

The captain smiled as he replied, “ I took you off in 
anger, boy, and I’m sorry for it. I would even now take 
you back, but we are too far away from it. See, there it 
is,” he added, laying his finger on the chart, “ and we are 
now here — fifty miles at least. It would not be fair to 
my men to put about now, for they have all an interest 
in the trade.” 

I could make no reply to this; so, after a little more 
conversation, I agreed to become one of the crew — at 
least, until we could reach some civilised island where I 
might be put ashore. The captain assented to this propo¬ 
sition, and after thanking him for the promise, I left the 
cabin and went on deck with feelings that ought to have 
been lighter, but which were, I could not tell why, marvel¬ 
lously heavy and uncomfortable still. 


CHAPTER XIII 

Bloody Bill — Dark surmises — A murderous massacre. 


T HREE weeks after the conversation narrated in the 
last chapter, I was standing on the quarter-deck of 
the schooner, watching the gambols of a shoal of por¬ 
poises that swam round us. It was a dead calm — one of 
those still, hot, sweltering days so common in the Pacific, 
when nature seems to have gone to sleep, and the only 
thing in water or in air that proves her still alive is her 
long, deep breathing in the swell of the mighty sea. 

No sound broke on our ears save the soft puff now and 
then of a porpoise, the slow creak of the masts as we 
swayed gently on the swell, the patter of the reef-points, 
and the occasional flap of the hanging sails. An awning 
covered the fore and after parts of the schooner, under 
which the men composing the watch on deck lolled in 
sleepy indolence, overcome with excessive heat. Bloody 
Bill, as the men invariably called him, was standing at 
the tiller; but he whiled away the time by alternately 
gazing in dreamy abstraction at the compass in the bin¬ 
nacle, and by walking to the taffrail in order to spit into 
the sea. In one of these turns he came near to where I 
was standing, and, leaning over the side, looked long and 
earnestly down into the blue wave. 

This man, although he was always taciturn and often 
surly, was the only human being on board with whom I 


Coral Island 


205 


had the slightest desire to become better acquainted. The 
other men, seeing that I did not relish their company, and 
knowing that I was a protege of the captain, treated me 
with total indifference. Bloody Bill, it is true, did the 
same; but as this was his conduct to every one else, it 
was not peculiar in reference to me. Once or twice I tried 
to draw him into conversation, but he always turned away 
after a few cold monosyllables. As he now leaned over 
the taffrail close beside me, I said to him — 

“ Bill, why is it that you are so gloomy? Why do you 
never speak to any one? ” 

Bill smiled slightly as he replied, “ Why, I s’pose it’s 
because I hain’t got nothin’ to say! ” 

“ That’s strange,” said I musingly; “ you look like a 
man that could think, and such men can usually speak.” 

“ So they can, youngster,” rejoined Bill somewhat 
sternly; “ and I could speak, too, if I had a mind to, but 
what’s the use o’ speakin’ here? The men only open their 
mouths to curse and swear, an’ they seem to find it enter¬ 
tainin’; but I don’t, so I hold my tongue.” 

“ Well, Bill, that’s true, and I would rather not hear 
you speak at all than hear you speak like the other men; 
but I don’t swear, Bill, so you might talk to me sometimes, 
I think. Besides, I’m weary of spending day after day in 
this way, without a single soul to say a pleasant word to. 
I’ve been used to friendly conversation, Bill, and I really 
would take it kind if you would talk with me a little now 
and then.” 

Bill looked at me in surprise, and I thought I observed 
a sad expression pass across his sunburned face. 


206 


Coral Island 


“ An’ where have you been used to friendly conversa¬ 
tion? ” said Bill, looking down again into the sea; “ not 
on that Coral Island, I take it.” 

“ Yes, indeed,” said I energetically; “ I have spent 
many of the happiest months in my life on that Coral 
Island.” And without waiting to be further questioned, 
I launched out into a glowing account of the happy life 
that Jack and Peterkin and I had spent together, and 
related minutely every circumstance that befell us while 
on the island. 

“ Boy, boy,” said Bill, in a voice so deep that it startled 
me, “ this is no place for you.” 

“ That’s true,” said I. “ I am of little use on board, 
and I don’t like my comrades; but I can’t help it, and at 
any rate I hope to be free again soon.” 

“ Free? ” said Bill, looking at me in surprise. 

“ Yes, free,” returned I; “ the captain said he would 
put me ashore after this trip was over.” 

“ This trijp! Hark’ee, boy,” said Bill, lowering his 
voice, “ what said the captain to you the day you came 
aboard? ” 

“ He said that he was a trader in sandal-wood, and no 
pirate, and told me that if I would join him for this trip 
he would give me a good share of the profits, or put me 
on shore in some civilised island if I chose.” 

Bill’s brows lowered savagely as he muttered, “ Ay, he 
said truth when he told you he was a sandal-wood trader, 
but he lied when-” 

“ Sail ho! ” shouted the look-out at the masthead. 

“ Where away? ” cried Bill, springing to the tiller 


Coral Island 


207 


while the men, startled by the sudden cry, jumped up and 
gazed round the horizon. 

“ On the starboard quarter, hull down, sir,” answered 
the look-out. 

At this moment the captain came on deck, and mount¬ 
ing into the rigging, surveyed the sail through the glass. 
Then sweeping his eye round the horizon, he gazed steadily 
at a particular point. 

“ Take in top-sails,” shouted the captain, swinging him¬ 
self down on the deck by the main-back stay. 

“ Take in top-sails,” roared the first mate. 

“ Ay, ay, sir-r-r,” answered the men, as they sprang 
into the rigging and went aloft like cats. 

Instantly all was bustle on board the hitherto quiet 
schooner. The top-sails were taken in and stowed, the 
men stood by the sheets and halyards, and the captain 
gazed anxiously at the breeze which was now rushing 
towards us like a sheet of dark blue. In a few seconds it 
struck us. The schooner trembled as if in surprise at the 
sudden onset, while she fell away, then bending gracefully 
to the wind, as though in acknowledgment of her subjec¬ 
tion, she cut through the waves with her sharp prow like 
a dolphin, while Bill directed her course towards the 
strange sail. 

In half-an-hour we neared her sufficiently to make out 
that she was a schooner, and from the clumsy appearance 
of her masts and sails we judged her to be a trader. She 
evidently did not like our appearance, for the instant the 
breeze reached her she crowded all sail and showed us her 
stern. As the breeze had moderated a little, our top-sails 


208 


Coral Island 


were again shaken out, and it soon became evident — 
despite the proverb, “ A stern chase is a long one ” — that 
we doubled her speed and would overhaul her speedily. 
When within a mile we hoisted British colours, but re¬ 
ceiving no acknowledgment, the captain ordered a shot 
to be fired across her bows. In a moment, to my sur¬ 
prise, a large portion of the bottom of the boat amidships 
was removed, and in the hole thus exposed appeared an 
immense brass gun. It worked on a swivel, and was 
elevated by means of machinery. It was quickly loaded 
and fired. The heavy ball struck the water a few yards 
ahead of the chase, and ricochetting into the air, plunged 
into the sea a mile beyond it. 

This produced the desired effect. The strange vessel 
backed her top-sails and hove-to, while we ranged up and 
lay-to about a hundred yards off. 

“ Lower the boat,” cried the captain. 

In a second the boat was lowered and manned by a 
part of the crew, who were all armed with cutlasses and 
pistols. As the captain passed me to get into it, he said, 
“ Jump into the stern-sheets, Ralph; I may want you.” 
I obeyed, and in ten minutes more we were standing on 
the stranger’s deck. We were all much surprised at the 
sight that met our eyes. Instead of a crew of such sailors 
as we were accustomed to see, there were only fifteen 
blacks, standing on the quarter-deck and regarding us 
with looks of undisguised alarm. They were totally un¬ 
armed, and most of them unclothed; one or two, however, 
wore portions of European attire. One had on a pair of 
duck trousers which were much too large for him, and 


Coral Island 


209 


stuck out in a most ungainly manner. Another wore 
nothing but the common scanty native garment round 
the loins, and a black beaver hat. But the most ludi¬ 
crous personage of all, and one who seemed to be chief, 
was a tall, middle-aged man, of a mild, simple expression 
of countenance, who wore a white cotton shirt, a swallow¬ 
tailed coat, and a straw hat, while his black, brawny legs 
were totally uncovered below the knees. 

“ Where’s the commander of this ship? ” inquired our 
captain, stepping up to this individual. 

“ I is capin,” he answered, taking off his straw hat and 
making a low bow. 

“You!” said our captain in surprise. “Where do 
you come from, and where are you bound? What cargo 
have you aboard? ” 

“ We is come,” answered the man with the swallow¬ 
tail, “from Aitutaki; we was go for Rarotonga. We is 
native miss’nary ship; our name is de Olive Branch; an’ 
our cargo is two tons cocoa-nuts, seventy pigs, twenty 
cats, and de Gosp’l.” 

This announcement was received by the crew of our 
vessel with a shout of laughter, which, however, was 
peremptorily checked by the captain, whose expression 
instantly changed from one of severity to that of frank 
urbanity as he advanced towards the missionary and 
shook him warmly by the hand. 

“ I am very glad to have fallen in with you,” said he, 
“ and I wish you much success in your missionary labours. 
Pray take me to your cabin, as I wish to converse with 
you privately.” 


210 


Coral Island 


The missionary immediately took him by the hand, and 
as he led him away I heard him saying, “ Me most glad 
to find you trader; we t’ought you be pirate. You very 
like one ’bout the masts.” 

What conversation the captain had with this man I 
never heard, but he came on deck again in a quarter of 
an hour, and shaking hands cordially with the missionary, 
ordered us into our boat and returned to the schooner, 
which was immediately put before the wind. In a few 
minutes the Olive Branch was left far behind us. 

That afternoon, as I was down below at dinner, I heard 
the men talking about this curious ship. 

“ I wonder,” said one, “ why our captain looked so 
sweet on yon swallow-tailed supercargo o’ pigs and Gos¬ 
pels. If it had been an ordinary trader, now, he would 
have taken as many o’ the pigs as he required and sent 
the ship with all on board to the bottom.” 

“ Why, Dick, you must be new to these seas if you 
don’t know that,” cried another. “ The captain cares as 
much for the Gospel as you do (an’ that’s precious little), 
but he knows, and everybody knows, that the only place 
among the southern islands where a ship can put in and 
get what she wants in comfort is where the Gospel has 
been sent to. There are hundreds o’ islands, at this 
blessed moment, where you might as well jump straight 
into a shark’s maw as land without a band o’ thirty 
comrades armed to the teeth to back you.” 

“ Ay,” said a man with a deep scar over his right eye, 
“ Dick’s new to the work. % But if the captain takes us for 
a cargo o’ sandal-wood to the Feejees, he’ll get a taste o* 


Coral Island 


211 


these black gentry in their native condition. For my 
part, I don’t know and I don’t care what the Gospel 
does to them, but I know that when any o’ the islands 
chance to get it, trade goes all smooth and easy; but 
where they ha’nt got it, Beelzebub himself could hardly 
desire better company.” 

“ Well, you ought to be a good judge,” cried another, 
laughing, “ for you’ve never kept any company but the 
worst all your life! ” 

“ Ralph Rover! ” shouted a voice down the hatchway, 
“ captain wants you, aft.” 

Springing up the ladder, I hastened to the cabin, 
pondering as I went the strange testimony borne by 
these men to the effect of the Gospel on savage natures 
— testimony which, as it was perfectly disinterested, I 
had no doubt whatever was strictly true. 

On coming again on deck, I found Bloody Bill at the 
helm, and as we were alone together, I tried to draw him 
into conversation. After repeating to him the conversa¬ 
tion in the forecastle about the missionaries, I said — 

“ Tell me, Bill, is this schooner really a trader in 
sandal-wood? ” 

“ Yes, Ralph, she is; but she’s just as really a pirate. 
The black flag you saw flying at the peak was no de¬ 
ception.” 

“ Then how can you say she’s a trader? ” asked I. 

“ Why, as to that, she trades when she can’t take by 
force; but she takes by force when she can, in preference. 
Ralph,” he added, lowering his voice, “ if you had seen 
the bloody deeds that I have witnessed done on these 


212 


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decks, you would not need to ask if we were pirates. But 
you’ll find it out soon enough. As for the missionaries, 
the captain favours them because they are useful to him. 
The South Sea Islanders are such incarnate fiends that 
they are the better of being tamed, and the missionaries 
are the only men who can do it.” 

Our track after this lay through several clusters of 
small islets, among which we were becalmed more than 
once. During this part of our voyage the watch on deck 
and the look-out at the masthead were more than usually 
vigilant, as we were not only in danger of being attacked 
by the natives (who, I learned from the captain’s remarks, 
were a bloody and deceitful tribe at this group), but we 
were also exposed to much risk from the multitudes of 
coral reefs that rose up in the channels between the 
islands, some of them just above the surface, others a 
few feet below it. Our precautions against the savages, 
I found, were indeed necessary. 

One day we were becalmed among a group of small 
islands, most of which appeared to be uninhabited. As 
we were in want of fresh water, the captain sent the boat 
ashore to bring off a cask or two. But we were mistaken 
in thinking there were no natives; for scarcely had we 
drawn near to the shore when a band of naked blacks 
rushed out of the bush and assembled on the beach, 
brandishing their clubs and spears in a threatening 
manner. Our men were well armed, but refrained from 
showing any signs of hostility, and rowed nearer in order 
to converse with the natives; and I now found that more 
than one of the crew could imperfectly speak dialects of 


Coral Island 


213 


the language peculiar to the South Sea Islanders. When 
within forty yards of the shore, we ceased rowing, and the 
first mate stood up to address the multitude; but instead 
of answering us, they replied with a shower of stones, 
some of which cut the men severely. Instantly our 
muskets were levelled, and a volley was about to be 
fired, when the captain h&iled us in a loud voice from 
the schooner, which lay not more than five or six hun¬ 
dred yards off the shore. 

“Don’t fire!” he shouted angrily. “Pull off to the 
point ahead of you.” 

The men looked surprised at this order, and uttered 
deep curses as they prepared to obey, for their wrath was 
roused and they burned for revenge. Three or four of 
them hesitated, and seemed disposed to mutiny. 

“ Don’t distress yourselves, lads,” said the mate, while 
a bitter smile curled his lip. “ Obey orders. The cap¬ 
tain’s not the man to take an insult tamely. If Long 
Tom does not speak presently I’ll give myself to the 
sharks.” 

The men smiled significantly as they pulled from the 
shore, which was now crowded with a dense mass of 
savages, amounting probably to five or six hundred. We 
had not rowed off above a couple of hundred yards when 
a loud roar thundered over the sea, and the big brass gun 
sent a withering shower of grape point-blank into the 
midst of the living mass, through which a wide lane was 
cut, while a yell, the like of which I could not have im¬ 
agined, burst from the miserable survivors as they fled 
to the woods. Amongst the heaps of dead that lay on 


214 


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the sand just where they had fallen, I could distinguish 
mutilated forms writhing in agony, while ever and anon 
one and another rose convulsively from out the mass, 
endeavoured to stagger towards the wood, and ere they 
had taken a few steps, fell and wallowed on the bloody 
sand. My blood curdled within me as I witnessed this 
frightful and wanton slaughter; but I had little time to 
think, for the captain’s deep voice came again over the 
water towards us: “ Pull ashore, lads, and fill your water- 
casks.” The men obeyed in silence, and it seemed to me 
as if even their hard hearts were shocked by the ruthless 
deed. On gaining the mouth of the rivulet at which we 
intended to take in water, we found it flowing with blood, 
for the greater part of those who were slain had been 
standing on the banks of the stream, a short way above 
its mouth. Many of the wretched creatures had fallen 
into it, and we found one body, which had been carried 
down, jammed between two rocks, with the staring eye¬ 
balls turned towards us, and his black hair waving in the 
ripples of the blood-red stream. No one dared to oppose 
our landing now, so we carried our casks to a pool above 
the murdered group, and having filled them, returned on 
board. Fortunately, a breeze sprang up soon afterwards, 
and carried us away from the dreadful spot; but it could 
not waft me away from the memory of what I had 
seen. 

“ And this,” thought I, gazing in horror at the cap¬ 
tain, who, with a quiet look of indifference, leaned upon 
the taffrail smoking a cigar and contemplating the fertile 
green islets as they passed like a lovely picture before our 


Coral Island 


215 


eyes — “ this is the man who favours the missionaries be¬ 
cause they are useful to him and can tame the savages 
better than any one else can do it! ” Then I wondered in 
my mind whether it were possible for any missionary to 
tame him! 


CHAPTER XIV 


Bloody Bill is sagacious — The pirates and a Feejee chief. 


M ANY days after I recovered a little of my wonted 
spirits. I could not shake off the feeling for a long 
time that I was in a frightful dream, and the sight of our 
captain filled me with so much horror that I kept out of 
his way as much as my duties about the cabin would 
permit. Fortunately he took so little notice of me that 
he did not observe my changed feelings towards him, 
otherwise it might have been worse for me. 

But I was now resolved that I would run away the 
very first island we should land at, and commit myself to 
the hospitality of the natives rather than remain an hour 
longer than I could help in the pirate schooner. I pon¬ 
dered this subject a good deal, and at last made up my 
mind to communicate my intention to Bloody Bill; for 
during several talks I had had with him of late, I felt 
assured that he too would willingly escape if possible. 
When I told him of my design he shook his head. “No, 
no, Ralph,” said he, “ you must not think of running away 
here. Among some of the groups of islands you might do 
so with safety, but if you tried it here you would find 
that you had jumped out of the fryin’-pan into the fire.” 

“ How so, Bill? ” said I; “ would the natives not re¬ 
ceive me? ” 

“ That they would, lad; but they would eat you too.” 


Coral Island 


217 


“ Eat me! ” said I in surprise; “ I thought the South 
Sea Islanders never ate anybody except their enemies.” 

“ Humph! ” ejaculated Bill. “ I s’pose ’twas yer ten¬ 
der-hearted friends in England that put that notion into 
your head. There’s a set o’ soft-hearted folk at home 
that I knows on who don’t like to have their feelin’s 
ruffled, and when you tell them anything they don’t like 
— that shocks them, as they call it — no matter how true 
it be, they stop their ears and cry out, ‘ Oh, that is too 
horrible! We can’t believe that! ’ An’ they say truth. 
They can’t believe it ’cause they won’t believe it. Now, I 
believe there’s thousands o’ the people in England who 
are sich born drivellin’ won't-believers that they think the 
black fellows hereaways at the worst eat an enemy only 
now an’ then, out o’spite; whereas I know for certain, 
and many captains of the British and American navies 
know as well as me, that the Feejee Islanders eat not only 
their enemies but one another; and they do it not for 
spite, but for pleasure. It’s a fact that they prefer human 
flesh to any other. But they don’t like white men’s flesh 
so well as black; they say it makes them sick.” 

“ Why, Bill,” said I, “ you told me just now that they 
would eat me if they caught me.” 

“ So I did, and so I think they would. I’ve only heard 
some o’ them say they don’t like white men so well as 
black; but if they was hungry they wouldn’t be partic¬ 
ular. Anyhow, I’m sure they would kill you. You see, 
Ralph, I’ve been a good while in them parts, and I’ve 
visited the different groups of islands oftentimes as a 
trader. And thorough-goin’ blackguards some o’ them 


218 


Coral Island 


traders are; no better than pirates, I can tell you. One 
captain that I sailed with was not a chip better than the 
one we’re with now. He was trading with a friendly chief 
one day, aboard his vessel. The chief had swum off to us 
with the thing for trade tied atop of his head, for them 
chaps are like otters in the water. Well, the chief was 
hard on the captain, and would not part with some o’ his 
things. When their bargainin’ was over they shook 
hands, and the chief jumped overboard to swim ashore; 
but before he got forty yards from the ship the captain 
seized a musket and shot him dead. He then hove up 
anchor and put to sea, and as we sailed along the shore, 
he dropped six black fellows with his rifle, remarkin’ that 
‘ that would spoil the trade for the next comers.’ But, as 
I was sayin,’ I’m up to the ways o’ these fellows. One o’ 
the laws o’ the country is, that every shipwrecked person 
who happens to be cast ashore, be he dead or alive, is 
doomed to be roasted and eaten. There was a small 
tradin’ schooner wrecked off one of these islands when we 
were lyin’ there in harbour during a storm. The crew 
was lost, all but three men, who swam ashore. The 
moment they landed they were seized by the natives and 
carried up into the woods. We knew pretty well what 
their fate would be, but we could not help them, for our 
crew was small, and if we had gone ashore they would 
likely have killed us all. We never saw the three men 
again; but we heard frightful yelling and dancing and 
merrymaking that night; and one of the natives, who 
came aboard to trade with us next day, told us that the 
long pigs, a6 he called the men, had been roasted and 


Coral Island 


219 


eaten, and their bones were to be converted into sail- 
needles. He also said that white men were bad to eat, 
and that most o’ the people on shore were sick.” 

I was very much shocked and cast down in my mind at 
this terrible account of the natives, and asked Bill what 
he would advise me to do. Looking round the deck to 
make sure that we were not overheard, he lowered his 
voice and said, “ There are two or three ways that we 
might escape, Ralph, but none o’ them’s easy. If the 
captain would only sail for some o’ the islands near Tahiti, 
we might run away there well enough, because the natives 
are all Christians; an’ we find that wherever the savages 
take up with Christianity they always give over their 
bloody ways, and are safe to be trusted. I never cared 
for Christianity myself,” he continued in a soliloquising 
voice, “ and I don’t well know what it means; but a man 
with half an eye can see what it does for these black 
critters. However, the captain always keeps a sharp look¬ 
out after us when we get to these islands, for he half 
suspects that one or two o’ us are tired of his company. 
Then we might manage to cut the boat adrift some fine 
night when it’s our watch on deck, and clear off before 
they discovered that we were gone. But we would run 
the risk o’ bein’ caught by the blacks. I wouldn’t like to 
try that plan. But you and I will think over it, Ralph, 
and see what’s to be done. In the meantime it’s our watch 
below, so I’ll go and turn in.” 

Bill then bade me good-night, and went below, while a 
comrade took his place at the helm; but feeling no desire 
to enter into conversation with him, I walked aft, and 


220 


Coral Island 


leaning over the stern, looked down into the phosphores¬ 
cent waves that gurgled around the rudder, and streamed 
out like a flame of blue light in the vessel’s wake. My 
thoughts were very sad, and I could scarce refrain from 
tears as I contrasted my present wretched position with 
the happy, peaceful time I had spent on the Coral Island 
with my dear companions. As I thought upon Jack and 
Peterkin, anxious forebodings crossed my mind, and I 
pictured to myself the grief and dismay with which they 
would search every nook and corner of the island, in a vain 
attempt to discover my dead body; for I felt assured that 
if they did not see any sign of the pirate schooner or boat 
when they came out of the cave to look for me, they would 
never imagine that I had been carried away. I wondered, 
too, how Jack would succeed In getting Peterkin out of 
the cave without my assistance; and I trembled when I 
thought that he might lose presence of mind, and begin 
to kick when he was in the tunnel! These thoughts were 
suddenly interrupted and put to flight by a bright red 
blaze which lighted up the horizon to the southward and 
cast a crimson glow far over the sea. This appearance 
was accompanied by a low growling sound, as of distant 
thunder, and at the same time the sky above us became 
black, while a hot, stifling wind blew around us in fitful 
gusts. 

The crew assembled hastily on deck, and most of them 
were under the belief that a frightful hurricane was pend¬ 
ing; but the captain, coming on deck, soon explained the 
phenomena. 

“ It’s only a volcano,” said he. “ I knew there was one 


Coral Island 


221 


hereabouts, but thought it was extinct. Up there and 
furl top-gallant sails; we’ll likely have a breeze, and it’s 
well to be ready.” 

As he spoke a shower began to fall, which we quickly 
observed was not rain but fine ashes. As we were many 
miles distant from the volcano, these must have been car¬ 
ried to us from it by the wind. As the captain had pre¬ 
dicted, a stiff breeze soon afterwards sprang up, under the 
influence of which we speedily left the volcano far behind 
us; but during the greater part of the night we could see 
its lurid glare and hear its distant thunder. The shower 
did not cease to fall for several hours, and we must have 
sailed under it for nearly forty miles, perhaps farther. 
When we emerged from the cloud, our decks and every 
part of the rigging were completely covered with a thick 
coat of ashes. I was much interested in this, and recol¬ 
lected that Jack had often spoken of many of the islands 
of the Pacific as being volcanoes, either active or extinct, 
and had said that the whole region was more or less vol¬ 
canic, and that some scientific men were of opinion that 
the islands of the Pacific were nothing more or less than 
the mountain tops of a huge continent which had sunk 
under the influence of volcanic agency. 

Three days after passing the volcano, we found our¬ 
selves a few miles to windward of an island of considerable 
size and luxuriant aspect. It consisted of two mountains, 
which seemed to be nearly four thousand feet high. They 
were separated from each other by a broad valley, whose 
thick-growing trees ascended a considerable distance up 
the mountain sides; and rich, level plains, or meadow- 


222 


Coral Island 


land, spread round the base of the mountains, except at 
the point immediately opposite the large valley, where a 
river seemed to carry the trees, as it were, along with 
it down to the white, sandy shore. The mountain tops, 
unlike those of our Coral Island, were sharp, needle- 
shaped, and bare, while their sides were more rugged and 
grand in outline than anything I had yet seen in those 
seas. Bloody Bill was beside me when the island first 
hove in sight. 

“ Ha! ” he exclaimed, “ I know that island well. They 
call it Emo.” 

“ Have you been there before, then? ” I inquired. 

“ Ay, that I have, often, and so has this schooner. ’Tis 
a famous island for sandal-wood. We have taken many 
cargoes of it already, and have paid for them, too; for 
the savages are so numerous that we dared not try to take 
it by force. But our captain has tried to cheat them so 
often, that they’re beginnin’ not to like us overmuch now. 
Besides, the men behaved ill the last time we were here, 
and I wonder the captain is not afraid to venture. But 
he ? s afraid o’ nothing earthly, I believe.” 

We soon ran inside the barrier coral-reef, and let go 
our anchor in six fathoms water, just opposite the mouth 
of a small creek, whose shores were densely covered with 
mangroves and tall trees. The principal village of the 
natives lay about half a mile from this point. Ordering 
the boat out, the captain jumped into it, and ordered me 
to follow him. The men, fifteen in number, were well 
armed, and the mate was directed to have Long Tom 
ready for emergencies. 


Coral Island 


223 


“ Give way, lads,” cried the captain. 

The oars fell into the water at the word, the boat shot 
from the schooner’s side, and in a few minutes reached 
the shore. Here, contrary to our expectation, we were 
met with the utmost cordiality by Romata, the principal 
chief of the island, who conducted us to his house and 
gave us mats to sit upon. I observed in passing that the 
natives, of whom there were two or three thousand, were 
totally unarmed. 

After a short preliminary palaver, a feast of baked pigs 
and various roots was spread before us; of which we 
partook sparingly, and then proceeded to business. The 
captain stated his object in visiting the island, regretted 
that there had been a slight misunderstanding during the 
last visit, and hoped that no ill-will was borne by either 
party and that a satisfactory trade would be accomplished. 

Romata answered that he had forgotten there had 
been any differences between them, protested that he was 
delighted to see his friends again, and assured them they 
should have every assistance in cutting and embarking 
the wood. The terms were afterwards agreed on, and we 
rose to depart. All this conversation was afterwards 
explained to me by Bill, who understood the language 
pretty well. 

Romata accompanied us on board, and explained that 
a great chief from another island was then on a visit to 
him, and that he was to be ceremoniously entertained 
on the following day. After begging to be allowed to 
introduce him to us, and receiving permission, he sent his 
canoe ashore to bring him off. At the same time, he 


224 


Coral Island 


gave orders to bring on board his two favourites, a cock 
and a paroquet. While the canoe was gone on this errand, 
I had time to regard the savage chief attentively. He 
was a man of immense size, with massive but beautifully 
moulded limbs and figure, only parts of which, the broad 
chest and muscular arms, were uncovered; for although 
the lower orders generally wore no other clothing than a 
strip of cloth called maro round their loins, the chief, on 
particular occasions, wrapped his person in voluminous 
folds of a species of native cloth, made from the bark of 
the Chinese paper-mulberry. Romata wore a magnificent 
black beard and moustache, and his hair was frizzed out 
to such an extent that it resembled a large turban, in 
which was stuck a long wooden pin! I afterwards found 
that this pin served for scratching the head, for which 
purpose the fingers were too short without disarranging 
the hair. But Romata put himself to much greater in¬ 
convenience on account of his hair, for we found that he 
slept with his head resting on a wooden pillow, in which 
was cut a hollow for the neck, so that the hair of the 
sleeper might not be disarranged. 

In ten minutes the canoe returned, bringing the other 
chief, who certainly presented a most extraordinary ap¬ 
pearance, having painted one half of his face red and the 
other half yellow, besides ornamenting it with various 
designs in black! Otherwise he was much the same in 
appearance as Romata, though not so powerfully built. 
As this chief had never seen a ship before, except, per¬ 
chance, some of the petty traders that at long intervals 
visit these remote islands, he was much taken up with the 


Coral Island 


225 


neatness and beauty of all the fittings of the schooner. 
He was particularly struck with a musket which was 
shown to him, and asked where the white men got hatchets 
hard enough to cut the tree of which the barrel was made! 
While he was thus engaged, his brother chief stood aloof, 
talking with the captain, and fondling a superb cock and a 
little blue-headed paroquet, the favourites of which I have 
before spoken. I observed that all the other natives 
walked in a crouching posture while in the presence of 
Romata. Before our guests left us, the captain ordered 
the brass gun to be uncovered and fired for their gratifica¬ 
tion; and I have every reason to believe he did so for the 
purpose of showing our superior power, in case the natives 
should harbour any evil designs against us. Romata had 
never seen this gun before, as it had not been uncovered 
on previous visits, and the astonishment with which he 
viewed it was very amusing. Being desirous of knowing 
its power, he begged that the captain would fire it; so 
a shot was put into it. The chiefs were then directed 
to look at a rock about two miles out at sea, and 
the gun was fired. In a second the top of the rock was 
seen to burst asunder, and to fall in fragments into the 
sea. 

Romata was so delighted with the success of this shot 
that he pointed to a man who was walking on the shore 
and begged the captain to fire at him, evidently suppos¬ 
ing that his permission was quite sufficient to justify the 
captain in such an act. He was therefore surprised, and 
not a little annoyed, when the captain refused to fire at 
the native, and ordered the gun to be housed. 


226 


Coral Island 


Of all the things, however, that afforded matter of 
amusement to these savages, that which pleased Romata’s 
visitor most was the ship’s pump. He never tired of ex¬ 
amining it and pumping up the water. Indeed, so much 
was he taken up with this pump, that he could not be 
prevailed on to return on shore, but sent a canoe to fetch 
his favourite stool, on which he seated himself, and spent 
the remainder of the day in pumping the bilge-water out 
of the ship! 

Next day the crew went ashore to cut sandal-wood, 
while the captain, with one or two men, remained on 
board, in order to be ready, if need be, with the brass gun, 
which was unhoused and conspicuously elevated, with its 
capacious muzzle directed point-blank at the chief’s house. 
The men were fully armed, as usual; and the captain 
ordered me to go with them, to assist in the work. I was 
much pleased with this order, for it freed me from the 
captain’s company, which I could not now endure, and it 
gave me an opportunity of seeing the natives. 

As we wound along in single file through the rich, 
fragrant groves of banana, cocoa-nut, bread-fruit, and 
other trees, I observed that there were many of the plum 
and banian trees, with which I had become familiar on 
the Coral Island. I noticed also large quantities of taro- 
roots, yams, and sweet potatoes growing in enclosures. 
On turning into an open glade of the woods, we came 
abruptly upon a cluster of native houses. They were 
built chiefly of bamboos, and were thatched with the 
large, thick leaves of the pandanus; but many of them 
had little more than a sloping roof and three sides with 


Coral Island 


227 


an open front, being the most simple shelter from the 
weather that could well be imagined. Within these and 
around them were groups of natives — men, women, and 
children — who all stood up to gaze at us as we marched 
along, followed by the party of men whom the chief had 
sent to escort us. About half a mile inland we arrived at 
the spot where the sandal-wood grew, and while the men 
set to work I clambered up an adjoining hill to observe 
the country. 

About mid-day the chief arrived with several followers, 
one of whom carried a baked pig on a wooden platter, with 
yams and potatoes on several plantain leaves, which he 
presented to the men, who sat down under the shade of a 
tree to dine. The chief sat down to dine also; but, to 
my surprise, instead of feeding himself, one of his wives 
performed that office for him! I was seated beside Bill, 
and asked him the reason of this. 

“ It is beneath his dignity, I believe, to feed himself,” 
answered Bill; “ but I daresay he’s not particular, except 
on great occasions. They’ve a strange custom among 
them, Ralph, which is called tabu , and they carry it to 
great lengths. If a man chooses a particular tree for his 
god, the fruit o’ that tree is tabued to him; and if he 
eats it, he is sure to be killed by his people, and eaten, of 
course, for killing means eating hereaway. Then, you see 
that great mop o’ hair on the chief’s head? Well, he has 
a lot o’ barbers to keep it in order; and it’s a law that 
whoever touches the head of a living chief or the body of 
a dead one, his hands are tabued; so in that way the 
barbers’ hands are always tabued, and they daren’t use 


228 


Coral Island 


them for their lives, but have to be fed like big babies, as 
they are, sure enough! ” 

“ That’s odd, Bill. But look there,” said I, pointing 
to a man whose skin was of a much lighter colour than 
the generality of the natives. 44 I’ve seen a few of these 
light-skinned fellows among the Feejeeans. They seem 
to me to be of quite a different race.” 

44 So they are,” answered Bill. 44 These fellows come 
from the Tongan Islands, which lie a long way to the 
eastward. They come here to build their big w T ar-canoes; 
and, as these take two and sometimes four years to build, 
there’s always some o’ the brown-skins among the black 
sarpents o’ these islands.” 

44 By the way, Bill,” said I, 44 your mentioning serpents 
reminds me that I have not seen a reptile of any kind 
since I came to this part of the world.” 

44 No more there are any,” said Bill, 44 if ye except the 
niggers themselves; there’s none on the islands but a lizard 
or two, and some sich harmless things. But I never seed 
any myself. If there’s none on the land, however, there’s 
more than enough in the water, and that reminds me of a 
wonderful brute they have here. But come, I’ll show it to 
you.” So saying, Bill arose, and, leaving the men still 
busy with the baked pig, led me into the forest. After 
proceeding a short distance, we came upon a small pond 
of stagnant water. A native lad had followed us, to whom 
we called and beckoned him to come to us. On Bill saying 
a few words to him which I did not understand, the boy 
advanced to the edge of the pond and gave a low, peculiar 
whistle. Immediately the water became agitated, and an 


Coral Island 


229 


enormous eel thrust its head above the surface and allowed 
the youth to touch it. It was about twelve feet long, and 
as thick round the body as a man’s thigh. 

“There!” said Bill, his lip curling with contempt; 
“ what do you think of that for a god, Ralph? This is 
one o’ their gods, and it has been fed with dozens o’ livin’ 
babies already. How many more it’ll get afore it dies is 
hard to say.” 

“ Babies! ” said I, with an incredulous look. 

“ Ay, babies,” returned Bill. “ Your soft-hearted folk 
at home would say, ‘ Oh, horrible! impossible! ’ to that, 
and then go away as comfortable and unconcerned as if 
their sayin’ ‘ Horrible! impossible! ’ had made it a lie. 
But I tell you, Ralph, it’s a fact. I’ve seed it with my 
own eyes the last time I was here, an’ mayhap if you stop 
a while at this accursed place, and keep a sharp look-out, 
you’ll see it too. They don’t feed it regularly with livin’ 
babies, but they give it one now and then as a treat. 
Bah, you brute! ” cried Bill in disgust, giving the reptile 
a kick on the snout with his heavy boot that sent it 
sweltering back in agony into its loathsome pool. I 
thought it lucky for Bill, indeed for all of us, that the 
native youth’s back happened to be turned at the time; 
for I am certain that if the poor savages had come to 
know that we had so rudely handled their god, we should 
have had to fight our way back to the ship. As we 
retraced our steps I questioned my companion further on 
this subject. 

“ How comes it. Bill, that the mothers allow such a 
dreadful thing to be done? ” 


230 


Coral Island 


“Allow it? the mothers do it! It seems to me that 
there’s nothing too fiendish or diabolical for these people 
to do. Why, in some of the islands they have an institu¬ 
tion called the Areoi, and the persons connected with that 
body are ready for any wickedness that mortal man can 
devise. In fact they stick at nothing; and one o’ their 
customs is to murder their infants the moment they are 
born. The mothers agree to it, and the fathers do it. 
And the mildest ways they have of murdering them is by 
sticking them through the body with sharp splinters of 
bamboo, strangling them with their thumbs, or burying 
them alive and stamping them to death while under the 
sod.” 

I felt sick at heart while my companion recited these 
horrors. 

“ But it’s a curious fact,” he continued after a pause, 
during which we walked in silence towards the spot where 
we had left our comrades — “ it’s a curious fact, that 
wherever the missionaries get a footin’ all these things 
come to an end at once, an’ the savages take to doin’ each 
other good and singin’ psalms, just like Methodists.” 

“ God bless the missionaries! ” said I, while a feeling 
of enthusiasm filled my heart, so that I could speak with 
difficulty. “ God bless and prosper the missionaries till 
they get a footing in every island of the sea! ” 

“ I would say Amen to that prayer, Ralph, if I could,” 
said Bill, in a deep, sad voice; “ but it would be a mere 
mockery for a man to ask a blessing for others who dare 
not ask one for himself. But, Ralph,” he continued, 
“ I’ve not told you half o’ the abominations I have seen 


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231 


durin’ my life in these seas. If we pull long together, 
lad, I’ll tell you more; and if times have not changed 
very much since I was here last, it’s like that you’ll have 
a chance o’ seeing a little for yourself before long.” 


CHAPTER XV 


The sandal-wood party — Desperate amusements — An old 
friend recognised — Mischief brewing — The attack — 
Wholesale murder — Escape. 

N EXT day the wood-cutting party w T ent ashore again, 
and I accompanied them as before. During the 
dinner-hour I wandered into the woods alone, being dis¬ 
inclined for food that day. I had not rambled far when 
I found myself unexpectedly on the sea-shore, having 
crossed a narrow neck of land which separated the native 
village from a large bay. Here I found a party of the 
islanders busy with one of their war-canoes, which was 
almost ready for launching. I stood for a long time 
watching this party with great interest, and observed that 
they fastened the timbers and planks to each other very 
much in the same way in which I had seen Jack fasten 
those of our little boat. But what surprised me most 
was its immense length, which I measured carefully, and 
found to be a hundred feet long; and it was so capacious 
that it could have held three hundred men. It had the 
unwieldy outrigger and enormously high stern-posts which 
I had remarked on the canoe that came to us while I was 
on the Coral Island. Observing some boys playing at 
games a short way along the beach, I resolved to go and 
watch them; but as I turned from the natives who were 
engaged so busily and cheerfully at their work, I little 


Coral Island 233 

thought of the terrible event that hung on the completion 
of that war-canoe. 

Advancing towards the children, who were so numerous 
that I began to think this must be the general playground 
of the village, I sat down on a grassy bank under the shade 
of a plantain tree to watch them. And a happier or more 
noisy crew I have never seen. There were at least two 
hundred of them, both boys and girls, all of whom were 
clad in no other garments than their own glossy little 
black skins, except the maro, or strip of cloth round the 
loins of the boys, and a very short petticoat or kilt on the 
girls. They did not all play at the same game, but amused 
themselves in different groups. 

One band was busily engaged in a game exactly similar 
to our blind man’s buff. Another set were walking on 
stilts, which raised the children three feet from the ground. 
They were very expert at this amusement, and seldom 
tumbled. In another place I observed a group of girls 
standing together, and apparently enjoying themselves 
very much; so I went up to see what they were doing, 
and found that they were opening their eyelids with their 
fingers till their eyes appeared of an enormous size, and 
then thrusting pieces of straw between the upper and 
lower lids, across the eyeball, to keep them in that posi¬ 
tion! This seemed to me, I must confess, a very foolish 
as well as dangerous amusement. Nevertheless the chil¬ 
dren seemed to be greatly delighted with the hideous faces 
they made. I pondered this subject a good deal, and 
thought that if little children knew how silly they seemed 
to grown-up people when they make faces, they would not 


234 


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be so fond of doing it. In another place were a number of 
boys engaged in flying kites, and I could not help wonder¬ 
ing that some of the games of those little savages should 
be so like to our own, although they had never seen us at 
play. But the kites were different from ours in many re¬ 
spects, being of every variety of shape. They were made 
of very thin cloth, and the boys raised them to a wonderful 
height in the air by means of twine made from the cocoa- 
nut husk. Other games there were, some of which showed 
the natural depravity of the hearts of these poor savages. 
But the amusement which the greatest number of the chil¬ 
dren of both sexes seemed to take chief delight in was 
swimming and diving in the sea, and the expertness which 
they exhibited was truly amazing. They seemed to have 
two principal games in the water, one of which was to dive 
off a sort of stage which had been erected near a deep part 
of the sea, and chase each other in the water. Some 
of them went down to an extraordinary depth; others 
skimmed along the surface, or rolled over and over like 
porpoises, or diving under each other, came up unex¬ 
pectedly and pulled each other down by a leg or an arm. 
They never seemed to tire of this sport, and from the great 
heat of the water in the South Seas, they could remain in 
it nearly all day without feeling chilled. Many of these 
children were almost infants, scarce able to walk; yet they 
staggered down the beach, flung their round, fat little 
black bodies fearlessly into deep water, and struck out to 
sea with as much confidence as ducklings. 

The other game to which I have referred was swimming 
in the surf. But as this is an amusement in which all 


Coral Island 


235 


engage, from children of ten to grey-headed men of sixty, 
and as I had an opportunity of witnessing it in perfection 
the day following, I shall describe it more minutely. 

I suppose it was in honour of their guest that this grand 
swimming-match was got up, for Romata came and told 
the captain that they were going to engage in it, and 
begged him to “ come and see.” 

“ What sort of amusement is this surf-swimming? ” I 
inquired of Bill, as we walked together to a part of the 
shore on which several thousands of the natives were 
assembled. 

“ It’s a very favourite lark with these ’xtr’or’nary 
critters,” replied Bill, giving a turn to the quid of tobacco 
that invariably bulged out of his left cheek. “ Ye see, 
Ralph, them fellows take to the water as soon a’most as 
they can walk, an’ long before they can do that anything 
respectably, so that they are as much at home in the sea 
as on the land. Well, ye see, I s’pose they found swimmin’ 
for miles out to sea, and divin’ fathoms deep, wasn’t excit¬ 
ing enough, so they invented this game o’ swimmin’ on the 
surf. Each man and boy, as you see, has got a short board 
or plank, with which he swims out for a mile or more to 
sea, and then, gettin’ on the top o’ yon thunderin’ breaker, 
they come to shore on the top of it, yellin’ and screechin’ 
like fiends. It’s a marvel to me that they’re not dashed 
to shivers on the coral reef, for sure an’ sartin’ am I 
that if any o’ us tried it, we wouldn’t be worth the fluke 
of a broken anchor after the wave fell. But there they 
go!” 

As he spoke, several hundreds of the natives, amongst 


236 


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whom we were now standing, uttered a loud yell, rushed 
down the beach, plunged into the surf, and were carried 
off by the seething foam of the retreating wave. 

At the point where we stood, the encircling coral reef 
joined the shore, so that the magnificent breakers, which 
a recent stiff breeze had rendered larger than usual, fell in 
thunder at the feet of the multitudes who lined the beach. 
For some time the swimmers continued to strike out to 
sea, breasting over the swell like hundreds of black seals. 
Then they all turned, and watching an approaching billow, 
mounted its white crest, and each laying his breast on the 
short, flat board, came rolling towards the shore, careering 
on the summit of the mighty wave, while they and the on¬ 
lookers shouted and yelled with excitement. Just as the 
monster wave curled in solemn majesty to fling its bulky 
length upon the beach, most of the swimmers slid back 
into the trough behind; others, slipping off their boards, 
seized them in their hands, and plunging through the 
watery waste, swam out to repeat the amusement; but a 
few, who seemed to me the most reckless, continued their 
career until they were launched upon the beach, and en¬ 
veloped in the churning foam and spray. One of these 
last came in on the crest of the wave most manfully, and 
landed with a violent bound almost on the spot where Bill 
and I stood. I saw by his peculiar head-dress that he was 
the chief whom the tribe entertained as their guest. The 
sea-water had removed nearly all the paint with which his 
face had been covered, and as he rose panting to his feet, 
I recognised, to my surprise, the features of Tararo, my 
old friend of the Coral Island! 



(( 


}) 


ONE OF THESE CAME IN ON THE OREST OF THE WAVE 





















« 





































































































. 




























































































. 











Coral Island 


237 


Tararo at the same moment recognised me, and ad¬ 
vancing quickly, took me round the neck and rubbed 
noses; which had the effect of transferring a good deal 
of the moist paint from his nose to mine. Then, 
recollecting that this was not the white man’s mode of 
salutation, he grasped me by the hand and shook it 
violently. 

“Hallo, Ralph!” cried Bill in surprise, “that chap 
seems to have taken a sudden fancy to you, or he must be 
an old acquaintance.” 

“ Right, Bill,” I replied; “ he is indeed an old acquaint¬ 
ance; ” and I explained in a few words that he was the 
chief whose party Jack and Peterkin and I had helped to 
save. 

Tararo having thrown away his surf-board, entered into 
an animated conversation with Bill, pointing frequently 
during the course of it to me; whereby I concluded he 
must be telling him about the memorable battle and the 
part we had taken in it. When he paused, I begged of 
Bill to ask him about the woman Avatea, for I had some 
hope that she might have come with Tararo on this visit. 
“ And ask him,” said I, “ who she is, for I am persuaded 
she is of a different race from the Feejeeans.” On the 
mention of her name the chief frowned darkly, and seemed 
to speak with much anger. 

“ You’re right, Ralph,” said Bill, when the chief had 
ceased to talk; “ she’s not a Feejee girl, but a Samoan. 
How she ever came to this place the chief does not very 
clearly explain, but he says she was taken in war, and that 
he got her three years ago, an’ kept her as his daughter 


238 


Coral Island 


ever since. Lucky for her, poor girl, else she’d have been 
roasted and eaten like the rest.” 

“ But why does Tararo frown and look so angry? ” 
said I. 

“ Because the girl’s somewhat obstinate, like most o’ 
the sex, an’ won’t marry the man he wants her to. It 
seems that a chief of some other island came on a visit to 
Tararo and took a fancy to her, but she wouldn’t have him 
on no account, bein’ already in love, and engaged to a 
young chief whom Tararo hates, and she kicked up a des¬ 
perate shindy; so, as he was going on a war-expedition in 
his canoe, he left her to think about it, sayin’ he’d be back 
in six months or so, when he hoped she wouldn’t be so 
obstropolous. This happened just a week ago; an’ 
Tararo says that if she’s not ready to go when the chief 
returns, as his bride, she’ll be sent to him as a long pig” 

“ As a long pig! ” I exclaimed in surprise; “ why, what 
does he mean by that? ” 

“ He means somethin’ very unpleasant,” answered Bill 
with a frown. “ You see these blackguards eat men an’ 
women just as readily as they eat pigs; and as baked pigs 
and baked men are very like each other in appearance, 
they call men long pigs. If Avatea goes to this fellow 
as a long pig, it’s all up with her, poor thing.” 

“ Is she on the island now? ” I asked eagerly. 

“ No; she’s at Tararo’s island.” 

“ And where does it lie? ” 

“ About fifty or sixty miles to the south’ard o’ this,” 
returned Bill; “ but I-” 

At this moment we were startled by the cry of “ Mao! 


Coral Island 


239 


mao! — a shark! a shark! ” which was immediately fol¬ 
lowed by a shriek that rang clear and fearfully loud above 
the tumult of cries that arose from the savages in the 
water and on the land. We turned hastily towards the 
direction whence the cry came, and had just time to ob¬ 
serve the glaring eyeballs of one of the swimmers as he 
tossed his arms in the air. Next instant he was pulled 
under the waves. A canoe was instantly launched, and 
the hand of the drowning man was caught, but only half 
of his body was dragged from the maw of the monster, 
which followed the canoe until the water became so shallow 
that it could scarcely swim. The crest of the next billow 
was tinged with red as it rolled towards the shore. 

In most countries of the world this would have made a 
deep impression on the spectators, but the only effect it 
had upon these islanders was to make them hurry with all 
speed out of the sea, lest a similar fate should befall some 
of the others; but so utterly reckless were they of human 
life, that it did not for a moment suspend the progress of 
their amusements. It is true the surf-swimming ended 
for that time somewhat abruptly, but they immediately 
proceeded with other games. Bill told me that sharks do 
not often attack the surf-swimmers, being frightened away 
by the immense numbers of men and boys in the water, 
and by the shouting and splashing that they make. 
“ But,” said he, “ such a thing as you have seen just now 
don’t frighten them much. They’ll be at it again to¬ 
morrow or next day, just as if there wasn’t a single shark 
between Feejee and Nova Zembla.” 

After this the natives had a series of wrestling and box- 


240 


Coral Island 


ing matches; and being men of immense size and muscle, 
they did a good deal of injury to each other, especially in 
boxing, in which not only the lower orders but several 
of the chiefs and priests engaged. Each bout was very 
quickly terminated, for they did not pretend to a scientific 
knowledge of the art, and wasted no time in sparring, but 
hit straight out at each other’s heads, and their blows were 
delivered with great force. Frequently one of the com¬ 
batants was knocked down with a single blow; and one 
gigantic fellow hit his adversary so severely that he drove 
the skin entirely off his forehead. This feat was hailed 
with immense applause by the spectators. 

During these exhibitions, which were very painful to 
me, though I confess I could not refrain from beholding 
them, I was struck with the beauty of many of the figures 
and designs that were tattooed on the persons of the chiefs 
and principal men. One figure, that seemed to me very 
elegant, was that of a palm tree tattooed on the back of a 
man’s leg, the roots rising, as it were, from under his heel, 
the stem ascending the tendon of the ankle, and the grace¬ 
ful head branching out upon the calf. I afterwards 
learned that this process of tattooing is very painful, and 
takes long to do, commencing at the age of ten, and being 
continued at intervals up to the age of thirty. It is done 
by means of an instrument made of bone, with a number of 
sharp teeth with which the skin is punctured. Into these 
punctures a preparation made from the kernel of the 
candle-nut, mixed with cocoa-nut oil, is rubbed, and the 
mark thus made is indelible. The operation is performed 
by a class of men whose profession it is, and they tattoo 


Coral Island 


241 


as much at a time as the person on whom they are operat¬ 
ing can bear; which is not much, the pain and inflamma¬ 
tion caused by tattooing being very great, sometimes 
causing death. Some of the chiefs were tattooed with an 
ornamental stripe down the legs, which gave them the 
appearance of being clad in tights; others had marks 
round the ankles and insteps which looked like tight- 
fitting and elegant boots. Their faces were also tattooed, 
and their breasts were very profusely marked with every 
imaginable species of device — muskets, dogs, birds, pigs, 
clubs, and canoes, intermingled with lozenges, squares, 
circles, and other arbitrary figures. 

The women were not tattooed so much as the men, 
having only a few marks on their feet and arms. But I 
must say, however objectionable this strange practice may 
be, it nevertheless had this good effect, that it took away 
very much from their appearance of nakedness. 

Next day, while we were returning from the woods 
to our schooner, we observed Romata rushing about in 
the neighbourhood of his house, apparently mad with 
passion. 

“ Ah! ” said Bill to me, “ there he’s at his old tricks 
again. That’s his way when he gets drink. The natives 
make a sort of drink o’ their own, and it makes him bad 
enough; but when he gets brandy he’s like a wild tiger. 
The captain, I suppose, has given him a bottle, as usual, 
to keep him in good humour. After drinkin’ he usually 
goes to sleep, and the people know it well, and keep out 
of his way, for fear they should waken him. Even the 
babies are taken out of ear-shot; for when he’s waked up 


242 


Coral Island 


he rushes out just as you see him now, and spears or clubs 
the first person he meets.” 

It seemed at the present time, however, that no deadly 
weapon had been in his way, for the infuriated chief was 
raging about without one. Suddenly he caught sight of 
an unfortunate man who was trying to conceal himself 
behind a tree. Rushing towards him, Romata struck 
him a terrible blow on the head, which knocked out the 
poor man’s eye and also dislocated the chief’s finger. The 
wretched creature offered no resistance; he did not even 
attempt to parry the blow. Indeed, from what Bill said, 
I found that he might consider himself lucky in having 
escaped with his life, which would certainly have been for¬ 
feited had the chief been possessed of a club at the time. 

“ Have these wretched creatures no law among them¬ 
selves,” said I, “ which can restrain such wickedness? ” 

“ None,” replied Bill. “ The chief’s word is law. He 
might kill and eat a dozen of his own subjects any day 
for nothing more than his own pleasure, and nobody 
would take the least notice of it.” 

This ferocious deed took place within sight of our party 
as we wended our way to the beach, but I could not 
observe any other expression on the faces of the men than 
that of total indifference or contempt. It seemed to me 
a very awful thing that it should be possible for men to 
come to such hardness of heart and callousness to the sight 
of bloodshed and violence; but, indeed, I began to find 
that such constant exposure to scenes of blood was having 
a slight effect upon myself, and I shuddered when I came 
to think that I too was becoming callous. 


Coral Island 


243 


I thought upon this subject much that night while I 
walked up and down the deck during my hours of watch, 
and I came to the conclusion that if I, who hated, ab¬ 
horred, and detested such bloody deeds as I had witnessed 
within the last few weeks, could so soon come to be less 
sensitive about them, how little wonder that these poor 
ignorant savages, who were born and bred in familiarity 
therewith, should think nothing of them at all, and should 
hold human life in so very slight esteem! 

Next morning I awoke with a feverish brow and a 
feeling of deep depression at my heart, and the more I 
thought on my unhappy fate, the more w T retched and 
miserable did I feel. 

I was surrounded on all sides by human beings of the 
most dreadful character, to whom the shedding of blood 
was mere pastime. On shore were the natives, whose 
practices were so horrible that I could not think of them 
without shuddering. On board were none but pirates of 
the blackest dye, who, although not cannibals, were foul 
murderers, and more blameworthy even than the savages, 
inasmuch as they knew better. Even Bill, with whom I 
had, under the strange circumstances of my lot, formed 
a kind of intimacy, was so fierce in his nature as to have 
acquired the title of “ Bloody ” from his vile companions. 
I felt very much cast down the more I considered the 
subject and the impossibility of delivery, as it seemed to 
me — at least, for a long time to come. 

When the captain came on deck, before the hour at 
which the men usually started for the woods, I begged of 
him to permit me to remain aboard that day, as I did not 


244 


Coral Island 


feel well; but he looked at me angrily, and ordered me, 
in a surly tone, to get ready to go on shore as usual. The 
fact was that the captain had been out of humour for 
some time past. Romata and he had had some differences, 
and high words had passed between them, during which 
the chief had threatened to send a fleet of his war-canoes, 
with a thousand men, to break up and burn the schooner; 
whereupon the captain smiled sarcastically, and, going up 
to the chief, gazed sternly in his face, while he said, “ I 
have only to raise my little finger just now, and my big 
gun will blow your whole village to atoms in five minutes! ” 
Although the chief was a bold man, he quailed before the 
pirate’s glance and threat, and made no reply; but a bad 
feeling had been raised, and old sores had been opened. 

I had, therefore, to go with the wood-cutters that day. 
Before starting, however, the captain called me into the 
cabin, and said — 

“ Here, Ralph; I’ve got a mission for you. That 
blackguard Romata is in the dumps, and nothing will 
mollify him but a gift; so do you go up to his house and 
give him these whale’s teeth, with my compliments. Take 
with you one of the men who can speak the language.” 

I looked at the gift in some surprise, for it consisted of 
six white whale’s teeth, and two of the same dyed bright 
red, which seemed to me very paltry things. However, I 
did not dare to hesitate or ask any questions; so, gather¬ 
ing them up, I left the cabin, and was soon on my way to 
the chief’s house, accompanied by Bill. On expressing 
my surprise at the gift, he said — 

“ They’re paltry enough to you or me, Ralph, but 


Coral Island 


245 


they’re considered of great value by them chaps. They’re 
a sort o’ cash among them. The red ones are the most 
prized, one of them bein’ equal to twenty o’ the white 
ones. I suppose the only reason for their bein’ valuable 
is that there ain’t many of them, and they’re hard to be 
got.” 

On arriving at the house, we found Romata sitting on 
a mat, in the midst of a number of large bales of native 
cloth and other articles, which had been brought to him 
as presents from time to time by inferior chiefs. He re¬ 
ceived us rather haughtily; but on Bill explaining the 
nature of our errand, he became very condescending, and 
his eyes glistened with satisfaction when he received the 
whale’s teeth, although he laid them aside with an as¬ 
sumption of kingly indifference. 

“ Go,” said he, with a wave of the hand — “ go tell your 
captain that he may cut wood to-day, but not to-morrow. 
He must come ashore; I want to have a palaver with him.” 

As we left the house to return to the woods, Bill shook 
his head. 

“ There’s mischief brewin’ in that black rascal’s head. 
I know him of old. But what comes here? ” 

As he spoke, we heard the sound of laughter and 
shouting in the wood, and presently there issued from it a 
band of savages, in the midst of whom were a number of 
men bearing burdens on their shoulders. At first I 
thought that these burdens were poles with something 
rolled round them, the end of each pole resting on a man’s 
shoulder; but on a nearer approach I saw that they were 
human beings, tied hand and foot, and so lashed^to the 


246 


Coral Island 


poles that they could not move. I counted twenty of 
them as they passed. 

“ More murder! ” said Bill, in a voice that sounded 
between a hoarse laugh and a groan. 

“ Surely they are not going to murder them? ” said I, 
looking anxiously into Bill’s face. 

“ I don’t know, Ralph,” replied Bill, “ what they’re 
goin’ to do with them; but I fear they mean no good 
when they tie fellows up in that way.” 

As we continued our way towards the wood-cutters, I 
observed that Bill looked anxiously over his shoulder in 
the direction where the procession had disappeared. At 
last he stopped, and turning abruptly on his heel, said — 

“ I tell ye what it is, Ralph: I must be at the bottom 
o’ that affair. Let us follow these black scoundrels and 
see what they’re goin’ to do.” 

I must say I had no wish to pry further into their 
bloody practices; but Bill seemed bent on it, so I turned 
and went. We passed rapidly through the bush, being 
guided in the right direction by the shouts of the savages. 
Suddenly there was a dead silence, which continued for 
some time, while Bill and I involuntarily quickened our 
pace until we were running at the top of our speed across 
the narrow neck of land previously mentioned. As we 
reached the verge of the wood, we discovered the savages 
surrounding the large war-canoe, which they were ap¬ 
parently on the point of launching. Suddenly the multi¬ 
tude put their united strength to the canoe; but scarcely 
had the huge machine begun to move, when a yell, the 
most appalling that ever fell upon my ear, rose high above 


Coral Island 


247 


the shouting of the savages. It had not died away when 
another and another smote upon my throbbing ear; and 
then I saw that these inhuman monsters were actually 
launching their canoe over the living bodies of their 
victims. But there was no pity in the breasts of these 
men. Forward they went in ruthless indifference, shout¬ 
ing as they went, while high above their voices rang the 
dying shrieks of those wretched creatures, as, one after 
another, the ponderous canoe passed over them, burst the 
eyeballs from their sockets, and sent the life-blood gushing 
from their mouths. O reader, this is no fiction. I would 
not, for the sake of thrilling you with horror, invent so 
terrible a scene. It was witnessed. It is true — true as 
that accursed sin which has rendered the human heart 
capable of such diabolical enormities! 

When it was over, I turned round and fell upon the 
grass wdth a deep groan; but Bill seized me by the arm, 
and lifting me up as if I had been a child, cried — 

“ Come along, lad; let’s away! ” — and so, staggering 
and stumbling over the tangled underwood, we fled from 
the fatal spot. 

During the remainder of that day, I felt as if I were in 
a horrible dream. I scarce knew what was said to me, 
and was more than once blamed by the men for idling 
my time. At last the hour to return aboard came. 
We marched down to the beach, and I felt relief for the 
first time when my feet rested on the schooner’s deck. 

In the course of the evening I overheard part of a con¬ 
versation between the captain and the first mate, which 
startled me not a little. They were down in the cabin, 


248 


Coral Island 


and conversed in an undertone; but the skylight being 
off, I overheard every word that was said. 

“ I don’t half like it,” said the mate. “ It seems to me 
that we’ll only have hard fightin’ and no pay.” 

“No pay!” repeated the captain, in a voice of sup¬ 
pressed anger. “ Do you call a good cargo all for nothing 
no pay? ” 

“ Very true,” returned the mate; “ but we’ve got the 
cargo aboard. Why not cut your cable and take French 
leave o’ them? What’s the use o’ tryin’ to kill the black¬ 
guards when it’ll do us no manner o’ good? ” 

“ Mate,” said the captain in a low voice, “ you talk like 
a fresh-water sailor. I can only attribute this shyness 
to some strange delusion; for surely ” (his voice assumed 
a slightly sneering tone as he said this), “ surely I am not 
to suppose that you have become soft-hearted! Besides, 
you are wrong in regard to the cargo being aboard; there’s 
a good quarter of it lying in the woods, and that black¬ 
guard chief knows it and won’t let me take it off. He 
defied us to do our worst yesterday.” 

“Defied us! did he?” cried the mate with a bitter 
laugh. “ Poor, contemptible thing! ” 

“ And yet he seems not so contemptible but that you 
are afraid to attack him.” 

“ Who said I was afraid? ” growled the mate sulkily. 
“ I’m as ready as any man in the ship. But, captain, 
what is it that you intend to do? ” 

“ I intend to muffle the sweeps and row the schooner up 
to the head of the creek there, from which point we can 
command the pile of sandal-wood with our gun. Then I 


Coral Island 


249 


shall land with all the men except two, who shall take care 
of the schooner and be ready with the boat to take us 
off. We can creep through the woods to the head of the 
village, where these cannibals are always dancing round 
their suppers of human flesh, and if the carbines of the 
men are loaded with a heavy charge of buck-shot we can 
drop forty or fifty at the first volley. After that the 
thing will be easy enough. The savages will take to the 
mountains in a body, and we shall take what we require, 
up anchor, and away.” 

To this plan the mate at length agreed. As he left 
the cabin I heard the captain say — 

“ Give the men an extra glass of grog, and don’t forget 
the buck-shot.” 

The reader may conceive the horror with which I heard 
this murderous conversation. I immediately repeated it 
to Bill, who seemed much perplexed about it. At length 
he said — 

“ I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Ralph. I’ll swim ashore 
after dark and fix a musket to a tree not far from the 
place where we’ll have to land, and I’ll tie a long string to 
the trigger, so that when our fellows cross it they’ll let it 
off, and so alarm the village in time to prevent an attack, 
but not in time to prevent us gettin’ back to the boat. 
So, Master Captain,” added Bill, with a smile that for the 
first time seemed to me to be mingled with good-natured 
cheerfulness, “ you’ll be balked at least for once in your 
life by Bloody Bill.” 

After it grew dark, Bill put this resolve in practice. 
He slipped over the side with a musket in his left hand. 


250 


Coral Island 


while with his right he swam ashore and entered the 
woods. He soon returned, having accomplished his pur¬ 
pose, and got on board without being seen, I being the 
only one on deck. 

When the hour of midnight approached the men were 
mustered on deck, the cable was cut, and the muffled 
sweeps got out. These sweeps were immensely large oars, 
each requiring a couple of men to work it. In a few 
minutes we entered the mouth of the creek, which was 
indeed the mouth of a small river, and took about half-an- 
hour to ascend it, although the spot where we intended to 
land was not more than six hundred yards from the mouth, 
because there was a slight current against us, and the 
mangroves, which narrowed the creek, impeded the rowers 
in some places. Having reached the spot, which was so 
darkened by overhanging trees that we could see with 
difficulty, a small kedge anchor attached to a thin line 
was let softly down over the stern. 

“ Now, lads,” whispered the captain, as he walked along 
the line of men, who were all armed to the teeth, “ don’t 
be in a hurry, aim low, and don’t waste your first shots.” 

He then pointed to the boat, into which the men 
crowded in silence. There was no room to row; but oars 
were not needed, as a slight push against the side of the 
schooner sent the boat gliding to the shore. 

“ There’s no need of leaving two in the boat,” whispered 
the mate, as the men stepped out; “ we shall want all our 
hands. Let Ralph stay.” 

The captain assented, and ordered me to stand in readi¬ 
ness with the boat-hook, to shove ashore at a moment’s 


Coral Island 


251 


notice if they should return, or to shove off if any of the 
savages should happen to approach. He then threw his 
carbine into the hollow of his arm and glided through the 
bushes, followed by his men. With a throbbing heart I 
awaited the result of our plan. I knew the exact locality 
where the musket was placed, for Bill had described it to 
me, and I kept my straining eyes fixed upon the spot. 
But no sound came, and I began to fear that either they 
had gone in another direction or that Bill had not fixed 
the string properly. Suddenly I heard a faint click, and 
observed one or two bright sparks among the bushes. My 
heart immediately sank within me, for I knew at once that 
the trigger had indeed been pulled, but that the priming 
had not caught. The plan, therefore, had utterly failed. 
A feeling of dread now began to creep over me as I stood 
in the boat, in that dark, silent spot, awaiting the issue of 
this murderous expedition. I shuddered as I glanced at 
the water that glided past like a dark reptile. I looked 
back at the schooner, but her hull was just barely visible, 
while her tapering masts were lost among the trees which 
overshadowed her. Her lower sails were set, but so thick 
was the gloom that they were quite invisible. 

Suddenly I heard a shot. In a moment a thousand 
voices raised a yell in the village; again the cry rose on 
the night air, and was followed by broken shouts as of 
scattered parties of men bounding into the woods. Then 
I heard another shout loud and close at hand. It was the 
voice of the captain cursing the man who had fired the 
premature shot. Then came the order, “ Forward! ” fol¬ 
lowed by a wild hurrah of our men as they charged the 


252 


Coral Island 


savages. Shots now rang in quick succession, and at last 
a loud volley startled the echoes of the woods. It was 
followed by a multitude of wild shrieks, which were im¬ 
mediately drowned in another hurrah from the men; the 
distance of the sound proving that they were driving their 
enemies before them towards the sea. 

While I was listening intently to these sounds, which 
were now mingled in confusion, I was startled by the rust¬ 
ling of the leaves not far from me. At first I thought it 
was a party of savages who had observed the schooner, 
but I was speedily undeceived by observing a body of 
natives — apparently several hundreds, as far as I could 
guess in the uncertain light — bounding through the woods 
towards the scene of battle. I saw at once that this was 
a party who had outflanked our men, and would speedily 
attack them in the rear. And so it turned out; for in a 
short time the shouts increased tenfold, and among them 
I thought I heard a death-cry uttered by voices familiar 
to my ear. 

At length the tumult of battle ceased, and from the 
cries of exultation that now arose from the savages, I felt 
assured that our men had been conquered. I was imme¬ 
diately thrown into dreadful consternation. What was I 
now to do? To be taken by the savages was too horrible 
to be thought of; to flee to the mountains was hopeless, 
as I should soon be discovered; and to take the schooner 
out of the creek without assistance was impossible. I re¬ 
solved, however, to make the attempt, as being my only 
hope, and was on the point of pushing off, when my hand 
was stayed, and my blood chilled by an appalling shriek, 


Coral Island 


253 


in which I recognised the voice of one of the crew. It 
was succeeded by a shout from the savages. Then came 
another and another shriek of agony, making my ears to 
tingle, as I felt convinced they were murdering the pirate 
crew in cold blood. With a bursting heart and my brain 
whirling as if on fire, I seized the boat-hook to push from 
shore, when a man sprang from the bushes. 

“ Stop! Ralph, stop! — there now, push off,” he cried, 
and bounded into the boat so violently as nearly to upset 
her. It was Bill’s voice! In another moment we were on 
board — the boat made fast, the line of the anchor cut, and 
the sweeps run out. At the first stroke of Bill’s giant 
arm the schooner was nearly pulled ashore, for in his haste 
he forgot that I could scarcely move the unwieldy oar. 
Springing to the stern, he lashed the rudder in such a 
position as that, while it aided me, it acted against him, 
and so rendered the force of our strokes nearly equal. The 
schooner now began to glide quickly down the creek; but 
before we reached its mouth, a yell from a thousand voices 
on the bank told that we were discovered. Instantly a 
number of the savages plunged into the water and swam 
towards us; but we were making so much way that they 
could not overtake us. One, however, an immensely 
powerful man, succeeded in laying hold of the cut rope 
that hung from the stern, and clambered quickly upon 
deck. Bill caught sight of him the instant his head ap¬ 
peared above the taffrail; but he did not cease to row, and 
did not appear even to notice the savage until he was 
within a yard of him. Then, dropping the sweep, he 
struck him a blow on the forehead with his clenched fist 


254 


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that felled him to the deck. Lifting him up, he hurled 
him overboard, and resumed the oar. But now a greater 
danger awaited us, for the savages had outrun us on the 
bank, and were about to plunge into the water ahead of the 
schooner. If they succeeded in doing so, our fate was 
sealed. For one moment Bill stood irresolute. Then, 
drawing a pistol from his belt, he sprang to the brass gun, 
held the pan of his pistol over the touch-hole, and fired. 
The shot was succeeded by the hiss of the cannon’s prim¬ 
ing; then the blaze and the crushing thunder of the mon¬ 
strous gun burst upon the savages with such deafening 
roar that it seemed as if their very mountains had been 
rent asunder. 

This was enough. The moment of surprise and hesi¬ 
tation caused by the unwonted sound gave us time to 
pass the point; a gentle breeze, which the dense foliage 
had hitherto prevented us from feeling, bulged out our 
sails; the schooner bent before it, and the shouts of the 
disappointed savages grew fainter and fainter in the 
distance as we were slowly wafted out to sea. 


CHAPTER XVI 

The wounded man — The squall — Death. 

TOURING the greater part of that day I had been sub- 
jected to severe mental and much physical excite¬ 
ment, which had almost crushed me down by the time I 
was relieved from duty in the course of the evening. But 
when the expedition whose failure has just been narrated 
was planned, my anxieties and energies had been so 
powerfully aroused that I went through the scenes of that 
terrible night without a feeling of the slightest fatigue. 
My mind and body were alike active and full of energy. 
No sooner was the last thrilling fear of danger past, 
however, than my faculties were utterly relaxed; and when 
I felt the cool breezes of the Pacific playing around my 
fevered brow, and heard the free waves rippling at the 
schooner’s prow, as we left the hated island behind us, 
my senses forsook me, and I fell in a swoon upon the deck. 

From this state I was quickly aroused by Bill, who 
shook me by the arm, saying — 

“Hallo, Ralph boy! rouse up, lad; we’re safe now. 
Poor thing! I believe he’s fainted.” And, raising me in 
his arms, he laid me on the folds of the gaff top-sail, which 
lay upon the deck near the tiller. “ Here, take a drop o’ 
this; it’ll do you good, my boy,” he added, in a voice of 
tenderness which I had never heard him use before, while 
he held a brandy-flask to my lips. 


256 


Coral Island 


I raised my eyes gratefully as I swallowed a mouthful; 
next moment my head sank heavily upon my arm, and I 
fell fast asleep. I slept long, for when I awoke the sun 
was a good way above the horizon. I did not move on 
first opening my eyes, as I felt a delightful sensation of 
rest pervading me, and my eyes were riveted on and 
charmed with the gorgeous splendour of the mighty ocean 
that burst upon my sight. It was a dead calm; the sea 
seemed a sheet of undulating crystal, tipped and streaked 
with the saffron hues of sunrise, which had not yet merged 
into the glowing heat of noon; and there was a deep calm 
in the blue domb above that was not broken even by the 
usual flutter of the sea-fowl. How long I would have 
lain in contemplation of this peaceful scene I know not, 
but my mind was recalled suddenly and painfully to the 
past and the present by the sight of Bill, who was seated 
on the deck at my feet, with his head reclining, as if in 
sleep, on his right arm, which rested on the tiller. As he 
seemed to rest peacefully, I did not mean to disturb him, 
but the slight noise I made in raising myself on my elbow 
caused him to start and look round. 

“ Well, Ralph, awake at last, my boy? You have slept 
long and soundly,” he said, turning towards me. 

On beholding his countenance I sprang up in anxiety. 
He was deadly pale, and his hair, which hung in di¬ 
shevelled locks over his face, was clotted with blood. 
Blood also stained his hollow cheeks and covered the front 
of his shirt, which, with the greater part of his dress, was 
torn and soiled with mud. 

“O Bill!” said I with deep anxiety, “what is the 


Coral Island 257 

matter with you? You are ill. You must have been 
wounded.’’ 

“ Even so, lad,” said Bill in a deep, soft voice, while he 
extended his huge frame on the couch from which I had 
just risen. “ I’ve got an ugly wound, I fear, and I’ve 
been waiting for you to waken, to ask you to get me a 
drop o’ brandy and a mouthful o’ bread from the cabin 
lockers. You seemed to sleep so sweetly, Ralph, that I 
didn’t like to disturb you. But I don’t feel up to much 
just now.” 

I did not wait till he had done talking, but ran below 
immediately, and returned in a few seconds with a bottle 
of brandy and some broken biscuit. He seemed much 
refreshed after eating a few morsels and drinking a long 
draught of water mingled with a little of the spirits. 
Immediately afterwards he fell asleep, and I watched him 
anxiously until he awoke, being desirous of knowing the 
nature and extent of his wound. 

“ Ha! ” he exclaimed, on awaking suddenly after a 
slumber of an hour, “ I’m the better of that nap, Ralph; 
I feel twice the man I was; ” and he attempted to rise, 
but sank back again immediately with a deep groan. 

“ Nay, Bill, you must not move, but lie still while I 
look at your wound. I’ll make a comfortable bed for you 
here on deck, and get you some breakfast. After that you 
shall tell me how you got it. Cheer up, Bill,” seeing that 
he turned his head away; “ you’ll be all right in a little, 
and I’ll be a capital nurse to you, though I’m no doctor.” 

I then left him, and lighted a fire in the caboose. While 
it was kindling, I went to the steward’s pantry and pro- 


258 


Coral Island 


cured the materials for a good breakfast, with which, in 
little more than half-an-hour, I returned to my companion. 
He seemed much better, and smiled kindly on me as I 
set before him a cup of coffee and a tray with several eggs 
and some bread on it. 

“ Now then, Bill,” said I cheerfully, sitting down beside 
him on the deck, “ let’s fall to. I’m very hungry myself, 
I can tell you; but — I forgot — your wound,” I added, 
rising; “ let me look at it.” 

I found that the wound was caused by a pistol-shot in 
the chest. It did not bleed much, and as it was on the 
right side, I was in hopes that it might not be very serious. 
But Bill shook his head. “ However,” said he, “ sit down, 
Ralph, and I’ll tell you all about it. 

“You see, after we left the boat an’ began to push 
through the bushes, we went straight for the line of my 
musket, as I had expected; but by some unlucky chance 
it didn’t explode, for I saw the line torn away by the 
men’s legs, and heard the click o’ the lock; so I fancy the 
priming had got damp and didn’t catch. I was in a great 
quandary now what to do, for I couldn’t concoct in my 
mind, in the hurry, any good reason for firin’ off my piece. 
But they say necessity’s the mother of invention; so just 
as I was givin’ it up and clinchin’ my teeth to bide the 
worst o’t and take what should come, a sudden thought 
came into my head. I stepped out before the rest, seemin’ 
to be awful anxious to be at the savages, tripped my foot 
on a fallen tree, plunged head foremost into a bush, an ov 
coorse, my carbine exploded! Then came such a screechin’ 
from the camp as I never heard in all my life. I rose at 


Coral Island 


259 


once, and was rushing on with the rest, when the captain 
called a halt. 

“ You did that a-purpose, you villain! ” he said with 
a tremendous oath, and drawin’ a pistol from his belt, let 
fly right into my breast. I fell at once, and remembered 
no more till I was startled and brought round by the 
most awful yell I ever heard in my life — except, maybe, 
the shrieks o’ them poor critters that were crushed to 
death under yon big canoe. Jumpin’ up, I looked round, 
and through the trees saw a fire gleamin’ not far off, the 
light of which showed me the captain and men tied hand 
and foot, each to a post, and the savages dancin’ round 
them like demons. I had scarce looked for a second, when 
I saw one o’ them go up to the captain flourishing a knife, 
and before I could wink he plunged it into his breast, 
while another yell, like the one that roused me, rang 
upon my ear. I didn’t wait for more, but bounding 
up, went crashing through the bushes into the woods. 
The black fellows caught sight of me, however, but 
not in time to prevent me jumpin’ into the boat, as you 
know.” 

Bill seemed to be much exhausted after this recital, and 
shuddered frequently during the narrative, so I refrained 
from continuing the subject at that time, and endeavoured 
to draw his mind to other things. 

“ But now, Bill,” said I, “ it behoves us to think about 
the future, and what course of action we shall pursue. 
Here we are, on the wide Pacific, in a well-appointed 
schooner, which is our own — at least no one has a better 
claim to it than we have — and the world lies before us. 


260 


Coral Island 


Moreover, here comes a breeze, so we must make up our 
minds which way to steer.” 

“ Ralph, boy,” said my companion; “ it matters not to 
me which way we go. I fear that my time is short now. 
Go where you will; I’m content.” 

“ Well then, Bill, I think we had better steer to the 
Coral Island, and see what has become of my dear old 
comrades, Jack and Peterkin. I believe the island has no 
name, but the captain once pointed it out to me on the 
chart, and I marked it afterwards; so, as we know pretty 
well our position just now, I think I can steer to it. 
Then, as to working the vessel, it is true I cannot hoist 
the sails single-handed, but luckily we have enough of 
sail set already; and if it should come on to blow a squall, 
I could at least drop the peaks of the main and fore sails, 
and clew them up partially without help, and throw her 
head close into the wind, so as to keep her all shaking till 
the violence of the squall is past. And if we have con¬ 
tinued light breezes, I’ll rig up a complication of blocks 
and fix them to the top-sail halyards, so that I shall be 
able to hoist the sails without help. ’Tis true I’ll require 
half a day to hoist them, but we don’t need to mind that. 
Then I’ll make a sort of erection on deck to screen you 
from the sun, Bill; and if you can only manage to sit 
beside the tiller and steer for two hours every day, so as 
to let me get a nap. I’ll engage to let you off duty all the 
rest of the twenty-four hours. And if you don’t feel able 
for steering, I’ll lash the helm and heave-to, while I get 
you your breakfasts and dinners; and so we’ll manage 
famously, and soon reach the Coral Island.” 


Coral Island 


261 


Bill smiled faintly as I ran on in this strain. 

“ And what will you do,” said he, “ if it comes on to 
blow a storm? ” 

This question silenced me, while I considered what I 
should do in such a case. At length I laid my hand on 
his arm, and said, “ Bill, when a man has done all that he 
can do, he ought to leave the rest to God.” 

“ O Ralph,” said my companion in a faint voice, look¬ 
ing anxiously into my face, “ I wish that I had the feelin’s 
about God that you seem to have, at this hour. I’m 
dyin’, Ralph; yet I, who have braved death a hundred 
times, am afraid to die. I’m afraid to enter the next 
world. Something within tells me there will be a reckon¬ 
ing when I go there. But it’s all over with me, Ralph. 
I feel that there’s no chance o’ my bein’ saved.” 

“ Don’t say that, Bill,” said I in deep compassion; 
“ don’t say that. I’m quite sure there’s hope even for 
you, but I can’t remember the words of the Bible that 
make me think so. Is there not a Bible on board, Bill? ” 

“ No; the last that was in the ship belonged to a poor 
boy that was taken aboard against his will. He died, poor 
lad — I think through ill-treatment and fear. After he 
was gone the captain found his Bible and flung it over¬ 
board.” 

After a short pause, Bill raised his eyes to mine and 
said, “ Ralph, I’ve led a terrible life. I’ve been a sailor 
since I was a boy, and I’ve gone from bad to worse ever 
since I left my father’s roof. I’ve been a pirate three 
years now. It is true I did not choose the trade, but I 
was inveigled aboard this schooner and kept here by force 


262 


Coral Island 


till I became reckless and at last joined them. Since that 
time my hand has been steeped in human blood again and 
again. Your young heart would grow cold if I— But why 
should I go on? ’Tis of no use, Ralph; my doom is fixed.” 

The energy with which he said this, and the action 
with which it was accompanied, were too much for Bill. 
He sank back with a deep groan. As if the very elements 
sympathised with this man’s sufferings, a low moan came 
sweeping over the sea. 

“ Hist, Ralph! ” said Bill, opening his eyes; “ there’s 
a squall coming, lad. Look alive, boy! Clew up the 
fore-sail. Drop the main-sail peak. Them squalls come 
quick sometimes.” 

I had already started to my feet, and saw that a heavy 
squall was indeed bearing down on us. It had hitherto 
escaped my notice, owing to my being so much engrossed 
by our conversation. I instantly did as Bill desired, for 
the schooner was lying motionless on the glassy sea. I 
observed with some satisfaction that the squall was bear¬ 
ing down on the larboard bow, so that it would strike 
the vessel in the position in which she would be best able 
to stand the shock. Having done my best to shorten 
sail, I returned aft, and took my stand at the helm. 

“ Now, boy,” said Bill in a faint voice, “ keep her close 
to the wind.” 

Almost before the words had left my lips the wind 
burst upon us, and the spray dashed over our decks. 
For a time the schooner stood it bravely, and sprang 
forward against the rising sea like a war-horse. Mean¬ 
while clouds darkened the sky, and the sea began to rise 


Coral Island 


263 


in huge billows. There was still too much sail on the 
schooner, and as the gale increased, I feared that the 
masts would be torn out of her or carried away, while 
the wind whistled and shrieked through the strained 
rigging. Suddenly the wind shifted a point, a heavy sea 
struck us on the bow, and the schooner was almost laid 
on her beam ends, so that I could scarcely keep my legs. 
At the same moment Bill lost his hold of the belay ing- 
pin which had served to steady him, and he slid with 
stunning violence against the skylight. As he lay on 
the deck close beside me, I could see that the shock had 
rendered him insensible; but I did not dare to quit the 
tiller for an instant, as it required all my faculties, bodily 
and mental, to manage the schooner. For an hour the 
blast drove us along, while, owing to the sharpness of the 
vessel’s bow and the press of canvas, she dashed through 
the waves instead of breasting over them, thereby drench¬ 
ing the decks with water fore and aft. At the end of 
that time the squall passed away, and left us rocking on 
the bosom of the agitated sea. 

My first care, the instant I could quit the helm, was to 
raise Bill from the deck and place him on the couch. I 
then ran below for the brandy bottle, and rubbed his face 
and hands with it, and endeavoured to pour a little down 
his throat. But my efforts, although I continued them 
long and assiduously, were of no avail; as I let go the 
hand which I had been chafing, it fell heavily on the 
deck. I laid my hand over his heart, and sat for some 
time quite motionless; but there was no flutter there — 
the pirate was dead! 


CHAPTER XVII 


Alone on the deep — Necessity the mother of invention — A 
bright day — An awful dive — The last of the Coral Island. 

I T was with feelings of awe, not unmingled with fear, 
that I now seated myself on the cabin skylight and 
gazed upon the rigid features of my late comrade, while 
my mind wandered over his past history and contem¬ 
plated with anxiety my present position. Alone, in the 
midst of the wide Pacific, having a most imperfect know¬ 
ledge of navigation, and in a schooner requiring at least 
eight men as her proper crew! But I will not tax the 
reader’s patience with a minute detail of my feelings and 
doings during the first few days that followed the death 
of my companion. I will merely mention that I tied a 
cannon-ball to his feet, and, with feelings of the deepest 
sorrow, consigned him to the deep. 

For fully a week after that a steady breeze blew from 
the east, and as my course lay west and by north, I 
made rapid progress towards my destination. I could not 
take an observation, which I very much regretted, as the 
captain’s quadrant was in the cabin; but from the day of 
setting sail from the island of the savages I had kept 
a dead reckoning, and as I knew pretty well now how 
much leeway the schooner made, I hoped to hit the Coral 
Island without much difficulty. In this I was the more 
confident that I knew its position on the chart (which I 


Coral Island 265 

understood was a very good one), and so had its correct 
bearings by compass. 

As the weather seemed now quite settled and fine, and 
as I had got into the trade-winds, I set about prepara¬ 
tions for hoisting the top-sails. This was a most arduous 
task, and my first attempts were complete failures, owing, 
in a great degree, to my ignorance. The first error I made 
was in applying my apparatus of blocks and pulleys to a 
rope which was too weak, so that the very first heave I 
made broke it in two, and sent me staggering against the 
after-hatch, over which I tripped, and, striking against 
the main-boom, tumbled down the companion-ladder into 
the cabin. I was much bruised and somewhat stunned 
by this accident. In my next attempt I unreeved the 
tackling and fitted up larger blocks and ropes. But 
although the principle on which I acted was quite correct, 
the machinery was now so massive and heavy that the 
mere friction and stiffness of the thick cordage prevented 
me from moving it at all. Afterwards, however, I came 
to proportion things more correctly and after the tackling 
was prepared and in good working order, it took me the 
greater part of a day to hoist the main top-sail. As I 
could not steer and work at this at the same time, I lashed 
the helm in such a position that, with a little watching 
now and then, it kept the schooner in her proper course. 
By this means I was enabled also to go about the deck 
and down below for things that I wanted, as occasion re¬ 
quired; also to cook and eat my victuals. But I did not 
dare to trust to this plan during the three hours of rest 
that I allowed myself at night, as the wind might have 


266 


Coral Island 


shifted, in which case I should have been blown far out of 
my course ere I awoke. I was, therefore, in the habit of 
heaving-to during those three hours — that is, fixing the 
rudder and the sails in such a position as that, by acting 
against each other, they would keep the ship stationary. 
After my night’s rest, therefore, I had only to make 
allowance for the leeway she had made, and so resume 
my course. 

Of course I was to some extent anxious lest another 
squall should come, and concluded that by letting go 
the weather-braces of the top-sails and the top-sail hal¬ 
yards at the same time, I should thereby render these 
sails almost powerless. Besides this, I proposed to myself 
to keep a sharp look-out on the barometer in the cabin, 
and if I observed at any time a sudden fall in it, I re¬ 
solved that I would instantly set about reducing sail, so 
as to avoid being taken unawares. Thus I sailed pros¬ 
perously for two weeks, with a fair wind, so that I calcu¬ 
lated I must be drawing near to the Coral Island; at the 
thought of which my heart bounded with joyful expec¬ 
tation. 

The only book I found on board, after a careful search 
was a volume of Captain Cook’s voyages. This, I suppose, 
the pirate captain had brought with him in order to guide 
him, and to furnish him with information regarding the 
islands of these seas. I found this a most delightful book 
indeed, and I not only obtained much interesting knowl¬ 
edge about the sea in which I was sailing, but I had many 
of my own opinions, derived from experience, corro¬ 
borated, and not a few of them corrected. Besides the 


Coral Island 


267 


reading of this charming book, and the daily routine of 
occupations, nothing of particular note happened to me 
during this voyage, except once, when on rising one night, 
after my three hours’ nap, while it was yet dark, I was 
amazed and a little alarmed to find myself floating in 
what appeared to be a sea of blue fire. I had often 
noticed the beautiful appearance of phosphorescent light, 
but this far exceeded anything of the sort I ever saw 
before. The whole sea appeared somewhat like milk, and 
was remarkably luminous. 

I rose in haste, and letting down a bucket into the sea, 
brought some of the water on board and took it down to 
the cabin to examine it; but no sooner did I approach 
the light than the strange appearance disappeared, and 
when I removed the cabin lamp the luminous light ap¬ 
peared again. I was much puzzled with this, and took up 
a little of the water in the hollow of my hand and then 
let it run off, when I found that the luminous substance 
was left behind on my palm. I ran with it to the lamp, 
but when I got there it was gone. I found, however, that 
when I went into the dark my hand shone again; so I 
took the large glass of the ship’s telescope and examined 
my hand minutely, when I found that there were on it 
one or two small patches of a clear, transparent substance 
like jelly, which were so thin as to be almost invisible to 
the naked eye. Thus I came to know that the beautiful 
phosphoric light, which I had so often admired before, 
was caused by animals, for I had no doubt that these were 
of the same kind as the meduste or jelly-fish which are 
seen in all parts of the world. 


268 


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On the evening of my fourteenth day I was awakened 
out of a nap into which I had fallen by a loud cry, and 
starting up I gazed around me. I was surprised and de¬ 
lighted to see a large albatross soaring majestically over 
the ship. I immediately took it into my head that this 
was the albatross I had seen at Penguin Island. I had, 
of course, no good reason for supposing this, but the idea 
occurred to me, I know not why, and I cherished it, and 
regarded the bird with as much affection as if he had been 
an old friend. He kept me company all that day, and 
left me as night fell. 

Next morning, as I stood motionless and with heavy 
eyes at the helm — for I had not slept well — I began to 
weary anxiously for daylight, and peered towards the 
horizon, where I thought I observed something like a 
black cloud against the dark sky. Being always on the 
alert for squalls, I ran to the bow. There could be no 
doubt it was a squall, and as I listened I thought I heard 
the murmur of the coming gale. Instantly I began to 
work might and main at my cumbrous tackle for shorten¬ 
ing sail, and in the course of an hour and a half had the 
most of it reduced. While thus engaged the dawn ad¬ 
vanced, and I cast an occasional glance ahead in the 
midst of my labour. But now that things were prepared 
for the worst, I ran forward again and looked anxiously 
over the bow. I now heard the roar of the waves dis¬ 
tinctly, and as a single ray of the rising sun gleamed over 
the ocean I saw — what! could it be that I was dreaming? 
— that magnificent breaker with its ceaseless roar! — that 
mountain top!—yes, once more I beheld the Coral Island! 


Coral Island 


269 


I almost fell upon the deck with the tumult of mingled 
emotions that filled my heart as I gazed ardently towards 
my beautiful island. It was still many miles away, but 
sufficiently near to enable me to trace distinctly the well- 
remembered outlines of the two mountains. My first 
impulse was to jump up, clap my hands, shout, and run 
up and down the deck, with no other object in view than 
that of giving vent to my excited feelings. Then I went 
below for the telescope, and spent nearly ten minutes of 
the utmost impatience in vainly trying to get a focus, and 
in rubbing the skin nearly off my eyes, before I discovered 
that having taken off the large glass to examine the phos¬ 
phoric water I had omitted to put it on again. 

After that I looked up impatiently at the sails, which I 
now regretted having lowered so hastily, and for a moment 
thought of hoisting the main top-sail again; but recollect¬ 
ing that it would take me full half a day and that, at the 
present rate of sailing, two hours would bring me to the 
island, I immediately dismissed the idea. 

The remainder of the time I spent in making feverish 
preparations for arriving and seeing my dear comrades. 
I remembered that they were not in the habit of rising 
before six, and as it was now only three, I hoped to arrive 
before they were awake. Moreover, I set about making 
ready to let go the anchor, resolving in my own mind that, 
as I knew the depth of water in the passage of the reef and 
within the lagoon, I would run the schooner in and bring 
up opposite the bower. Fortunately the anchor was hang¬ 
ing at the cat-head, otherwise I should never have been 
able to use it. Now, I had only to cut the tackling, and 


270 


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it would drop of its own weight. After searching among 
the flags, I found the terrible black one, which I ran up to 
the peak. While I was doing this a thought struck me. 
I went to the powder-magazine, brought up a blank cart¬ 
ridge and loaded the big brass gun, which, it will be re¬ 
membered, was unhoused when we set sail, and as I had 
no means of housing it, there it had stood, bristling alike 
at fair weather and foul all the voyage. I took care to 
grease its mouth well, and before leaving the fore part of 
the ship, thrust the poker into the fire. 

All was now ready. A steady five-knot breeze was 
blowing, so that I was now not more than quarter of a 
mile from the reef. I was soon at the entrance, and as 
the schooner glided quickly through, I glanced affection¬ 
ately at the huge breaker, as if it had been the same one 
I had seen there when I bade adieu, as I feared for ever, 
to the island. On coming opposite the Water Garden, I 
put the helm hard down. The schooner came round with 
a rapid, graceful bend, and lost way just opposite the 
bower. Running forward, I let go the anchor, caught up 
the red-hot poker, applied it to the brass gun, and saluted 
the mountains with a bang such as had only once before 
broke their slumbering echoes! 

Effective although it was, however, it was scarcely equal 
to the bang with which, instantly after, Peterkin bounded 
from the bower, in scanty costume, his eyeballs starting 
from his head with surprise and terror. One gaze he gave, 
one yell, and then fled into the bushes like a wild cat. 
The next moment Jack went through exactly the same 
performance, the only difference being that his movements 


Coral Island 271 

were less like those of Jack-in-the-box, though not less 
vigorous and rapid than those of Peterkin. 

“ Hallo! ” I shouted, almost mad with joy, “ what ho! 
Peterkin! Jack! hallo! it’s me! ” 

My shout was just in time to arrest them. They halted 
and turned round, and the instant I repeated the cry I 
saw that they recognised my voice, by both of them run¬ 
ning at full speed towards the beach. I could no longer 
contain myself. Throwing off my jacket, I jumped over¬ 
board at the same moment that Jack bounded into the 
sea. In another moment we met in deep water, clasped 
each other round the neck, and sank, as a matter of course, 
to the bottom! We were well-nigh choked, and instantly 
struggled to the surface, where Peterkin was sputtering 
about like a wounded duck, laughing and crying by turns, 
and choking himself with salt water! 

It would be impossible to convey to my reader, by de¬ 
scription, an adequate conception of the scene that fol¬ 
lowed my landing on the beach, as we stood embracing 
each other indiscriminately in our dripping garments, and 
giving utterance to incoherent rhapsodies, mingled with 
wild shouts. It can be more easily imagined than de¬ 
scribed, so I will draw a curtain over this part of my 
history, and carry the reader forward over an interval of 
three days. 

During the greater part of that period Peterkin did 
nothing but roast pigs, taro, and bread-fruit, and ply me 
with plantains, plums, potatoes, and cocoa-nuts, while I 
related to him and Jack the terrible and wonderful adven¬ 
tures I had gone through since we last met. After I had 


272 


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finished the account, they made me go all over it again; 
and when I had concluded the second recital, I had to go 
over it again, while they commented upon it piecemeal. 
They were much affected by what I told them of the prob¬ 
able fate of Avatea, and Peterkin could by no means 
brook the idea of the poor girl being converted into a long 
pig! As for Jack, he clenched his teeth, and shook his 
fist towards the sea, saying at the same time that he 
was sorry he had not broken Tararo’s head, and he only 
hoped that one day he should be able to plant his knuckles 
on the bridge of that chief’s nose! After they had 
“ pumped me dry,” as Peterkin said, I begged to be in¬ 
formed of what had happened to them during my absence, 
and how they got out of the Diamond Cave. 

“ Well, you must know,” began Jack, “ after you had 
dived out of the cave, on the day you were taken away 
from us, we waited very patiently for half-an-hour, not 
expecting you to return before the end of that time. 
Then we began to upbraid you for staying so long, when 
you knew we would be anxious; but when an hour passed, 
we became alarmed, and I resolved at all hazards to dive 
out, and see what had become of you, although I felt for 
poor Peterkin, because, as he truly said, 4 If you never 
come back I’m shut up here for life.’ However, I prom¬ 
ised not to run any risk, and he let me go; which, to 
say truth, I thought very courageous of him! ” 

“ I should just think it was,” interrupted Peterkin, 
looking at Jack over the edge of a monstrous potato. 

“ Well,” continued Jack, “ you may guess my consterna¬ 
tion when you did not answer to my halloo. At first I 


Coral Island 


273 


imagined the pirates must have killed you, and left you 
in the bush or thrown you into the sea; then it occurred 
to me that this would have served no end of theirs, so I 
came to the conclusion that they must have carried you 
away with them. As this thought struck me, I observed 
the pirate schooner standing away to the nor’ard, almost 
hull down on the horizon, and I sat down on the rocks to 
watch her as she slowly sank from my sight. And I tell 
you, Ralph my boy, that I shed more tears that time at 
losing you than I have done, I verily believe, all my life 
before-” 

“ Pardon me, Jack, for interrupting,” said Peterkin; 
“ surely you must be mistaken in that: you’ve often told 
me that when you were a baby you used to howl and 
roar from morning to-” 

“ Hold your tongue, Peterkin,” cried Jack. “ Well, 
after the schooner had disappeared, I dived back into the 
cave, much to Peterkin’s relief, and told him what I had 
seen. We sat down and had a long talk over this matter, 
and then we agreed to make a regular, systematic search 
through the woods, so as to make sure at least that you 
had not been killed. But now we thought of the diffi¬ 
culty of getting out of the cave without your help. Peter¬ 
kin became dreadfully nervous when he thought of this; 
and I must confess I felt some alarm, for, of course, I 
could not hope alone to take him out so quickly as we 
two together had brought him in; and he himself vowed 
that, if we had been a moment longer with him that time, 
he would have had to take a breath of salt water. How¬ 
ever, there was no help for it, and I endeavoured to calm 


274 


Coral Island 


his fears as well as I could; ‘ For,’ said I, 4 you can’t live 
here, Peterkin; ’ to which he replied, 4 Of course not, Jack, 
I can only die here, and as that’s not at all desirable, you 
had better propose something.’ So I suggested that he 
should take a good long breath, and trust himself to 
me. 

“ ‘ Might we not make a large bag of cocoa-nut cloth, 
into which I could shove my head, and tie it tight round 
my neck? ’ he asked with a haggard smile. 4 It might let 
me get one breath under water! ’ 

44 4 No use,’ said I, 4 it would fill in a moment and suffo¬ 
cate you. I see nothing for it, Peterkin, if you really 
can’t keep your breath so long, but to let me knock you 
down, and carry you out while in a state of insensibility.’ 

44 But Peterkin didn’t relish this idea. He seemed to 
fear that I would not be able to measure the exact force 
of the blow, and might, on the one hand, hit him so 
softly as to render a second or third blow necessary, or 
give him such a smash as would entirely spoil his figure¬ 
head, or mayhap knock the life out of him altogether! At 
last I got him persuaded to try to hold his breath, and 
commit himself to me; so he agreed, and down we went. 
But I had not got half-way through, when he began to 
struggle and kick like a wild bull, burst from my grasp, 
and hit against the roof of the tunnel. I was therefore 
obliged to force him violently back into the cave again, 
where he rose panting to the surface. In short, he had 
lost his presence of mind, and-” 

44 Nothing of the sort,” cried Peterkin indignantly, 44 1 
only lost my wind; and if I had not had presence of 


Coral Island 


275 


mind enough to kick as I did, I should have bu’st in your 
arms! ” 

“ Well, well, so be it,” resumed Jack with a smile; 
“ but we had to hold another consultation on the point, 
and I really believe that, had it not been for a happy 
thought of mine, we should have been consulting there 
yet.” 

“ I wish we had,” again interrupted Peterkin with a 
sigh. — “I’m sure, Ralph, if I had thought you were 
coming back again, I would willingly have awaited your 
return for months rather than have endured the mental 
agony which I went through. But proceed.” 

“ The thought was this,” continued Jack, “ that I 
should tie Peterkin’s hands and feet with cords, and then 
lash him firmly to a stout pole about five feet long, in 
order to render him quite powerless, and keep him straight 
and stiff. You should have seen his face of horror, Ralph, 
when I suggested this; but he came to see that it was 
his only chance, and told me to set about it as fast as I 
could; 4 For/ said he, ‘ this is no jokin/ Jack, I can tell 
you, and the sooner it’s done the better/ I soon pro¬ 
cured the cordage and a suitable pole, with which I 
returned to the cave, and lashed him as stiff and straight 
as an Egyptian mummy; and, to say truth, he was no 
bad representation of what an English mummy would be, 
if there were such things, for he was as white as a dead 
man.” 

“ ‘ Now/ said Peterkin in a tremulous voice, 4 swim 
with me as near to the edge of the hole as you can before 
you dive, then let me take a long breath, and as I shan’t 


276 


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be able to speak after I’ve taken it, you’ll watch my face, 
and the moment you see me wink — dive! And oh,’ he 
added earnestly, ‘ don’t be long! ’ 

“ I promised to pay the strictest attention to his wishes, 
and swam with him to the outlet of the cave. Here I 
paused. ‘ Now, then,’ said I, ‘ pull away at the wind, 
lad.’ 

“ Peterkin drew in a breath so long that I could not 
help thinking of the frog in the fable, that wanted to 
swell itself as big as the ox. Then I looked into his face 
earnestly. Slap went the lid of his right eye; down went 
my head, and up went my heels. We shot through the 
passage like an arrow, and rose to the surface of the open 
sea before you could count twenty. 

“ Peterkin had taken in such an awful load of wind 
that, on reaching the free air, he let it out with a yell 
loud enough to have been heard a mile off, and then the 
change in his feelings was so sudden and great, that he 
did not wait till we landed, but began, tied up as he was, 
to shout and sing for joy as I supported him, with my 
left arm, to the shore. However, in the middle of a 
laugh that a hyena might have envied, I let him acci¬ 
dentally slip, which extinguished him in a moment. 

“ After this happy deliverance, we immediately began 
our search for your dead body, Ralph; and you have no 
idea how low our hearts sank as we set off, day after day, 
to examine the valleys and mountain sides with the 
utmost care. In about three weeks we completed the 
survey of the whole island, and had at least the satisfac¬ 
tion of knowing that you had not been killed. But it 


Coral Island 


277 


occurred to us that you might have been thrown into the 
sea, so we examined the sands and the lagoon carefully, 
and afterwards went all round the outer reef. One day, 
while we were upon the reef, Peterkin espied a small, 
dark object lying among the rocks, which seemed to be 
quite different from the surrounding stones. We hastened 
towards the spot, and found it to be a small keg. On 
knocking out the head we discovered that it was gun¬ 
powder.” 

“ It was I who sent you that, Jack,” said I with a smile. 

“Fork out!” cried Peterkin energetically, starting to 
his feet and extending his open hand to Jack. “ Down 
with the money, sir, else I’ll have you shut up for life in 
a debtor’s prison the moment we return to England! ” 

“ I’ll give you an I O U in the meantime,” returned 
Jack, laughing, “ so sit down and be quiet. — The fact is, 
Ralph, when we discovered this keg of powder, Peterkin 
immediately took me a bet of a thousand pounds that 
you had something to do with it, and I took him a bet of 
ten thousand that you had not.” 

“ Peterkin was right then,” said I, explaining how the 
thing had occurred. 

“ Well, we found it very useful,” continued Jack, “ al¬ 
though some of it had got a little damp; and we furbished 
up the old pistol, with which Peterkin is a crack shot now. 
But to continue. We did not find any other vestige of 
you on the reef, and finally gave up all hope of ever 
seeing you again. After this the island became a dreary 
place to us, and we began to long for a ship to heave in 
sight and take us off. But now that you’re back again, 


278 


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my dear fellow, it looks as bright and cheerful as it used 
to do, and I love it as much as ever. 

“ And now,” continued Jack, “ I have a great desire to 
visit some of the other islands of the South Seas. Here 
we have a first-rate schooner at our disposal, so I don’t 
see what should hinder us.” 

“ Just the very thing I was going to propose,” cried 
Peterkin. “ I vote for starting at once.” 

“ Well, then,” said Jack, “ it seems to me that we could 
not do better than shape our course for the island on 
which Avatea lives, and endeavour to persuade Tararo to 
let her marry the black fellow instead of making a long 
pig of her. If he has a spark of gratitude in him, he’ll do 
it. Besides, having become champions for this girl once 
before, it behoves us, as true knights, not to rest until we 
set her free; at least, all the heroes in all the story-books 
I have ever read would count it foul disgrace to leave such 
a work unfinished.” 

“ I’m sure I don’t know or care what your knights in 
story-books would do,” said Peterkin; “ but I’m certain 
that it would be capital fun, so I’m your man whenever 
you want me.” 

This plan of Jack’s was quite in accordance with his 
romantic, impulsive nature; and having made up his 
mind to save this black girl, he could not rest until the 
thing was commenced. 

“ But there may be great danger in this attempt,” he 
said, at the end of a long consultation on the subject. 
“ Will you, lads, go with me in spite of this? ” 

“ Go with you! ” we repeated in the same breath. 


Coral Island 


279 


“ Can you doubt it? ” said I. 

“ For a moment,” added Peterkin. 

I need scarcely say that, having made up our minds to 
go on this enterprise, we lost no time in making prepara¬ 
tions to quit the inland; and as the schooner was well 
laden with stores of every kind for a long cruise, we 
had little to do except to add to our abundant sup¬ 
ply a quantity of cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, taro, yams, 
plums, and potatoes, chiefly with the view of carrying 
the fragrance of our dear island along with us as long as 
we could. 

When all was ready, we paid a farewell visit to the 
different familiar spots where most of our time had been 
spent. We ascended the mountain top, and gazed for 
the last time at the rich green foliage in the valleys, the 
white sandy beach, the placid lagoon, and the barrier 
coral reef with its crested breakers. 

Last of all, we returned to the bower and collected 
the few articles we possessed, such as the axe, the pencil- 
case, the broken telescope, the penknife, the hook made 
from the brass ring, and the sail-needle, with which we 
had landed on the island; also the long boots and the 
pistol, besides several curious articles of costume which we 
had manufactured from time to time. 

These we conveyed on board in our little boat, after 
having carved our names on a chip of iron-wood, thus: — 

JACK MARTIN, 

RALPH ROVER, 

FETERKIN GAY, 


280 


Coral Island 


which we fixed up inside of the bower. The boat was 
then hoisted on board and the anchor weighed; which 
latter operation cost us great labour and much time, as 
the anchor was so heavy that we could not move it with¬ 
out the aid of my complex machinery of blocks and 
pulleys. A steady breeze was blowing off shore when we 
set sail, at a little before sunset. It swept us quickly 
past the reef and out to sea. The shore grew rapidly 
more indistinct as the shades of evening fell, while our 
clipper bark bounded lightly over the waves. Slowly the 
mountain top sank on the horizon, until it became a mere 
speck. In another moment the sun and the Coral Island 
sank together into the broad bosom of the Pacific. 


CHAPTER XVIII 

The voyage — Awful revelations. 

O UR voyage during the next two weeks was most in¬ 
teresting and prosperous. The breeze continued 
generally fair, and at all times enabled us to lie our 
course; for being, as I have said before, clipper-built, 
the pirate schooner could lie very close to the wind and 
make little leeway. We had no difficulty now in managing 
our sails, for Jack was heavy and powerful, while Peterkin 
was active as a kitten. Still, however, we were a very 
insufficient crew for such a vessel, and if any one had 
proposed to us to make such a voyage in it before we 
had been forced to go through so many hardships from 
necessity, we would have turned away with pity from the 
individual making such proposal as from a madman. 

Although, therefore, we could now manage our sails 
easily, we nevertheless found that my pulleys were of 
much service to us in some things. But I will not drag 
my reader through the details of this voyage. Suffice it 
to say that, after an agreeable sail of about three weeks, 
we arrived off the island of Mango, which I recognised at 
once from the description that the pirate Bill had given 
me of it. 

As soon as we came within sight of it we hove the ship 
to and held a council of war. 

“ Now, boys,” said Jack, as we seated ourselves beside 


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him on the cabin skylight, 44 before we go further in this 
business, it would be unfair did I not see that you thor¬ 
oughly understand the danger of what we are about to 
attempt.” 

“ Oh, bother the danger! ” cried Peterkin. “ I wonder 
to hear you , Jack, talk of danger. When a fellow begins 
to talk about it, he’ll soon come to magnify it to such a 
degree that he’ll not be fit to face it when it comes, no 
more than a suckin’ baby.” 

44 Nay, Peterkin,” replied Jack gravely, 44 I won’t be 
jested out of it. When we’ve once resolved to act, and 
have made up our minds what to do, we should think no 
more of danger. But before we have so resolved, if we 
flinch at a distant view, we’re sure to run away when 
the danger is near. — Now, I understand from you, Ralph, 
that the island is inhabited by thorough-going, out-and- 
out cannibals, whose principal law is, 4 Might is right, and 
the weakest goes to the wall ’? ” 

44 Yes,” said I; 44 so Bill gave me to understand. He 
told me, however, that at the southern side of it the 
missionaries had obtained a footing amongst an insignifi¬ 
cant tribe. A native teacher had been sent there by the 
Wesleyans, w^ho had succeeded in persuading the chief at 
that part to embrace Christianity. But instead of that 
being of any advantage to our enterprise, it seems the 
very reverse; for the chief Tararo is a determined heathen, 
and persecutes the Christians — who are far too w T eak in 
numbers to offer any resistance — and looks with dislike 
upon all white men, whom he regards as propagators of 
the new faith.” 


Coral Island 


283 


“ ’Tis a pity,” said Jack, " that the Christian tribe is 
so small, for we shall scarcely be safe under their protec¬ 
tion, I fear. If Tararo takes it into his head to wish for 
our vessel, or to kill ourselves, he could take us from 
them by force. You say that the native missionary talks 
English? ” 

“ So I believe.” 

“ Then, what I propose is this,” said Jack. “ We will 
run round to the south side of the island, and cast anchor 
off the Christian village. We are too far away just now 
to have been descried by any of the savages, so we shall 
get there unobserved, and have time to arrange our plans 
before the heathen tribes know of our presence. But in 
doing this we run the risk of being captured by the ill- 

disposed tribes, and being very ill used, if not — a-” 

“ Roasted alive and eaten,” cried Peterkin. “ Come, 
out with it, Jack. According to your own showing, it’s 
well to look the danger straight in the face! ” 

“ Well, that is the worst of it, certainly. Are you 
prepared, then, to take your chance of that? ” 

“ I’ve been prepared and had my mind made up long 
ago,” cried Peterkin, swaggering about the deck with 
his hands thrust into his breeches pockets. “ The fact 
is, Jack, I don’t believe that Tararo will be so ungrateful 
as to eat us; and I’m quite sure that he’ll be too happy 
to grant us whatever we ask, so the sooner we go in and 
win the better.” 

Peterkin was wrong, however, in his estimate of savage 
gratitude, as the sequel will show. 

The schooner was now put before the wind, and after 


284 


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making a long run to the southward, we put about and 
beat up for the south side of Mango, where we arrived 
before sunset, and hove-to off the coral reef. Here we 
awaited the arrival of a canoe, which immediately put off 
on our rounding-to. When it arrived, a mild-looking 
native, of apparently forty years of age, came on board, 
and, taking off his straw hat, made us a low bow. He 
was clad in a respectable suit of European clothes; and 
the first words he uttered, as he stepped up to Jack and 
shook hands with him, were — 

“ Good day, gentlemen. We are happy to see you at 
Mango; you are heartily welcome.” 

After returning his salutation. Jack exclaimed, “ You 
must be the native missionary teacher of whom I have 
heard; are you not? ” 

“ I am. I have the joy to be a servant of the Lord 
Jesus at this station.” 

“ You’re the very man I want to see, then,” replied 
Jack; “ that’s lucky. Come down to the cabin, friend, 
I wish particularly to speak with you. My men there,” 
pointing to Peterkin and me, “ will look after your 
people.” 

“ Thank you,” said the teacher, as he followed Jack to 
the cabin. 

“Now, ’pon my word, that’s cool!” said Peterkin; 
“ his men , forsooth! Well, since we are to be men, we 
may as well come it as strong over these black chaps as 
we can. — Hallo, there!” he cried to the half-dozen of 
natives who stood upon the deck, gazing in wonder at all 
they saw, “ here’s for you; ” and he handed them a tray 


Coral Island 


285 


of broken biscuit and a can of water. Then, thrusting 
his hands into his pockets, he walked up and down the 
deck with an enormous swagger, whistling vociferously. 

In about half-an-hour Jack and the teacher came on 
deck, and the latter, bidding us a cheerful good-evening, 
entered his canoe and paddled to the shore. When he 
was gone, Peterkin stepped up to Jack, and, touching his 
cap, said — 

“ Well, captain, have you any communications to make 
to your men? ” 

“ Yes,” cried Jack; “ ready about, mind the helm, and 
clew up your tongue, while I con the schooner through 
the passage in the reef. The teacher, who seems a first- 
rate fellow, says it’s quite deep, and good anchorage 
within the lagoon close to the shore.” 

While the vessel was slowly advancing to her anchorage, 
under a light breeze, Jack explained to us that Avatea 
was still on the island, living amongst the heathens; that 
she had expressed a strong desire to join the Christians, 
but Tararo would not let her, and kept her constantly in 
close confinement. 

“ Moreover,” continued Jack, “ I find that she belongs 
to one of the Samoan Islands, where Christianity had been 
introduced long before her capture by the heathens of a 
neighbouring island; and the very day after she was 
taken she was to have joined the Church which had been 
planted there by that excellent body the London Mis¬ 
sionary Society. The teacher tells me, too, that the poor 
girl has fallen in love with a Christian chief, who lives on 
an island some fifty miles or so to the south of this one, 


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and that she is meditating a desperate attempt at escape. 
So, you see, we have come in the nick of time. I fancy 
that this chief is the fellow whom you heard of, Ralph, at 
the Island of Emo. Besides all this, the heathen savages 
are at war among themselves, and there’s to be a battle 
fought the day after to-morrow, in which the principal 
leader is Tararo; so that we’ll not be able to commence 
our negotiations with the rascally chief till the day after.” 

The village off which we anchored was beautifully situ¬ 
ated at the head of a small bay, from the margin of which 
trees of every description peculiar to the tropics rose in 
the richest luxuriance to the summit of a hilly ridge, 
which was the line of demarcation between the posses¬ 
sions of the Christians and those of the neighbouring 
heathen chief. 

The site of the settlement was an extensive plot of flat 
land, stretching in a gentle slope from the sea to the 
mountain. The cottages stood several hundred yards 
from the beach, and were protected from the glare of 
the sea by the rich foliage of rows of large Barringtonia 
and other trees which girt the shore. The village was 
about a mile in length, and perfectly straight, with a 
wide road down the middle, on either side of which were 
rows of the tufted-topped ti tree, whose delicate and 
beautiful blossoms, hanging beneath their plume-crested 
tops, added richness to the scene. The cottages of the 
natives were built beneath these trees, and were kept in 
the most excellent order, each having a little garden in 
front, tastefully laid out and planted, while the walks 
were covered with black and white pebbles. 


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Every house had doors and Venetian windows, painted 
partly with lamp-black made from the candle-nut, and 
partly with red ochre, which contrasted powerfully with 
the dazzling coral lime that covered the walls. On a 
prominent position stood a handsome church, which was 
quite a curiosity in its way. It was a hundred feet long 
by fifty broad, and was seated throughout to accommo¬ 
date upwards of two thousand persons. It had six large 
folding doors, and twelve windows with Venetian blinds; 
and although a large and substantial edifice, it had been 
built, we were told by the teacher, in the space of two 
months! There was not a single iron nail in the fabric, 
and the natives had constructed it chiefly with their stone 
and bone axes and other tools, having only one or two 
axes or tools of European manufacture. Everything 
around this beautiful spot wore an aspect of peace and 
plenty; and as we dropped our anchor within a stone's 
cast of the substantial coral wharf, I could not avoid 
contrasting it with the wretched village of Emo, where I 
had witnessed so many frightful scenes. 

On landing from our little boat, we were received with 
a warm welcome by the teacher and his wife; the latter 
being also a native, clothed in a simple European gown 
and a straw bonnet. The shore was lined with hundreds 
of natives, whose persons were all more or less clothed 
with native cloth. Some of the men had on a kind of 
poncho formed of this cloth, their legs being uncovered; 
others wore clumsily fashioned trousers, and no upper 
garment except hats made of straw and cloth. Many of 
the dresses, both of women and men, were grotesque 


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enough, being very bad imitations of the European garb; 
but all wore a dress of some sort or other. They seemed 
very glad to see us, and crowded round us as the teacher 
led the way to his dwelling, where we were entertained, in 
the most sumptuous manner, on baked pig and all the 
varieties of fruits and vegetables that the island produced. 
We were much annoyed, however, by the rats: they 
seemed to run about the house like domestic animals. As 
we sat at table, one of them peeped up at us over the 
edge of the cloth, close to Peterkin’s elbow, who floored it 
with a blow on the snout from his knife, exclaiming as 
he did so — 

“ I say, Mister Teacher, why don’t you set traps for 
these brutes? Surely you are not fond of them! ” 

“ No,” replied the teacher with a smile; “ we would be 
glad to get rid of them if we could; but if we were to trap 
all the rats on the island, it would occupy our whole 
time.” 

“ Are they, then, so numerous? ” inquired Jack. 

“ They swarm everywhere. The poor heathens on the 
north side eat them, and think them very sweet. So did 
my people formerly; but they do not eat so many now, 
because the missionary who was last here expressed dis¬ 
gust at it. The poor people asked if it was wrong to eat 
rats; and he told them that it was certainly not wrong, 
but that the people of England would be much disgusted 
were they asked to eat rats.” 

We had not been an hour in the house of this kind- 
hearted man when we were convinced of the truth of his 
statement as to their numbers; for the rats ran about the 


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floors in dozens, and during our meal two men were 
stationed at the table to keep them off! 

“ What a pity you have no cats! ” said Peterkin, 
and he aimed a blow at another reckless intruder, and 
missed it. 

“ We would indeed be glad to have a few,” rejoined the 
teacher, “ but they are difficult to be got. The hogs, we 
find, are very good rat-killers, but they do not seem to be 
able to keep the numbers down. I have heard that they 
are better than cats.” 

As the teacher said this, his good-natured black face 
was wrinkled with a smile of merriment. Observing that 
I had noticed it, he said — 

“ I smiled just now when I remembered the fate of the 
first cat that was taken to Rarotonga. This is one of 
the stations of the London Missionary Society, It, like 
our own, is infested with rats, and a cat was brought at 
last to the island. It was a large black one. On being 
turned loose, instead of being content to stay among men, 
the cat took to the mountains, and lived in a wild state, 
sometimes paying visits during the night to the houses of 
the natives; some of whom, living at a distance from the 
settlement, had not heard of the cat’s arrival, and were 
dreadfully frightened, calling it a 4 monster of the deep,’ 
and flying in terror away from it. One night the cat — 
feeling a desire for company, I suppose — took its way to 
the house of a chief. The chief’s wife, who was sitting 
awake at his side while he slept, beheld with horror two 
fires glistening in the doorway, and heard with surprise a 
mysterious voice. Almost petrified with fear, she awoke 


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her husband, and began to upbraid him for forsaking his 
old religion and burning his god, who, she declared, was 
now come to be avenged of them. * Get up and pray! 
get up and pray! ’ she cried. The chief arose, and on 
opening his eyes beheld the same glaring lights and heard 
the same sound. Impelled by the extreme urgency of the 
case, he commenced, with all vehemence, to vociferate the 
alphabet, as a prayer to God to deliver them from the 
vengeance of Satan! On hearing this, the cat, as much 
alarmed as themselves, fled away, leaving the chief and 
his wife congratulating themselves on the efficacy of their 
prayer.” 

We were much diverted with this anecdote, which the 
teacher related in English so good that we certainly could 
not have supposed him a native but for the colour of his 
face and the foreign accent in his tone. Next day we 
walked out with this interesting man, and were much 
entertained and instructed by his conversation, as we 
rambled through the cool, shady groves of bananas, cit¬ 
rons, limes, and other trees, or sauntered among the 
cottages of the natives, and watched them while they 
laboured diligently in the taro beds or manufactured the 
tapa or native cloth. To some of these Jack put questions 
through the medium of the missionary; and the replies 
were such as to surprise us at the extent of their knowledge. 
Indeed, Peterkin very truly remarked that 44 they seemed 
to know a considerable deal more than Jack himself! ” 

Among other pieces of interesting information that we 
obtained was the following, in regard to coral formations: 

44 The islands of the Pacific,” said our friend, 44 are of 


Coral Island 


291 


three different kinds or classes. Those of the first class 
are volcanic, mountainous, and wild; some shooting their 
jagged peaks into the clouds at an elevation of ten and 
fifteen thousand feet. Those of the second class are of 
crystallised limestone, and vary in height from one hun¬ 
dred to five hundred feet. The hills on these are not so 
wild or broken as those of the first class, but are richly 
clothed with vegetation, and very beautiful. I have no 
doubt that the Coral Island on which you were wrecked 
was one of this class. They are supposed to have been 
upheaved from the bottom of the sea by volcanic agency, 
but they are not themselves volcanic in their nature, 
neither are they of coral formation. Those of the third 
class are the low coralline islands, usually having lagoons 
of water in their midst; they are very numerous. 

“ As to the manner in which coral islands and reefs are 
formed, there are various opinions on this point. I will 
give you what seems to me the most probable theory. 
It is well known that there is much lime in salt water; 
it is also known that coral is composed of lime. It is sup¬ 
posed that the polypes, or coral insects, have the power of 
attracting this lime to their bodies; and with this material 
they build their little cells or habitations. They choose 
the summit of a volcano, or the top of a submarine moun¬ 
tain, as a foundation on which to build; for it is found 
that they never work at any great depth below the surface. 
On this they work; the polypes on the mountain top, of 
course, reach the surface first, then those at the outer 
edges reach the top sooner than the others between them 
and the centre, thus forming the coral reef surrounding 


292 


Coral Island 


the lagoon of water and the central island; after that the 
insects within the lagoon cease working. When the 
surface of the water is reached, these myriads of wonderful 
creatures die. Then birds visit the spot, and seeds are 
thus conveyed thither, which take root, and spring up, 
and flourish. Thus are commenced those coralline islets 
of which you have seen so many in these seas. The reefs 
round the large islands are formed in a similar manner. 

The missionary also gave us an account of the manner 
in which Christianity had been introduced among them. 
He said: “ When missionaries were first sent here, three 
years ago, a small vessel brought them; and the chief, who 
is now dead, promised to treat well the two native teachers 
who were left with their wives on the island. But scarcely 
had the boat which landed them returned to the ship 
than the natives began to maltreat their guests, taking 
away all they possessed, and offering them further violence, 
so that, when the boat was sent in haste to fetch them 
away, the clothes of both men and women were torn 
nearly off their backs. 

“ Two years after this the vessel visited them again, 
and I, being in her, volunteered to land alone, without any 
goods whatever, begging that my wife might be brought 
to me the following year — that is, this year; and, as you 
see, she is with me. But the surf was so high that the 
boat could not land me; so with nothing on but my 
trousers and shirt, and with a few catechisms and a Bible, 
besides some portions of the Scripture translated into the 
Mango tongue, I sprang into the sea, and swam ashore on 
the crest of a breaker. I was instantly dragged up the 


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293 


beach by the natives; who, on finding I had nothing 
worth having upon me, let me alone. I then made signs 
to my friends in the ship to leave me; which they did. 
At first the natives listened to me in silence, but laughed 
at what I said while I preached the Gospel of our blessed 
Saviour Jesus Christ to them. Afterwards they treated 
me ill sometimes; but I persevered, and continued to 
dwell among them, and dispute, and exhort them to give 
up their sinful ways of life, and burn their idols. 

44 About a month after I landed, I heard the chief was 
dead. He was the father of the present chief. It is a 
custom here that when a chief dies his wives are strangled 
and buried with him. Knowing this, I hastened to his 
house to endeavour to prevent such cruelty if possible. 
When I arrived, I found two of the wives had already 
been killed, while another was in the act of being strangled. 
I pleaded hard for her, but it was too late; she was 
already dead. I then entreated the son to spare the fourth 
wife, and after much hesitation my prayer was granted; 
but in half-an-hour afterwards this poor woman repented 
of being unfaithful, as she termed it, to her husband, and 
insisted on being strangled; which was accordingly done. 

44 All this time the chief’s son was walking up and down 
before his father’s house with a brow black as thunder. 
When he entered I went in with him, and found, to my 
surprise, that his father was not dead! The old man was 
sitting on a mat in a corner, witKan expression of placid 
resignation on his face. 

44 4 Why,’ said 1, 4 have you strangled your father’s wives 
before he is dead? ’ 


294 


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“ To this the son replied, ‘ He is dead. That is no 
longer my father. He is as good as dead now. He is to 
be buried alive. 9 

“ I now remembered having heard that it is a custom 
among the Feejee Islanders, that when the reigning chief 
grows old or infirm, the heir to the chieftainship has a 
right to depose his father; in which case he is considered 
as dead, and is buried alive. The young chief was now 
about to follow this custom, and despite my earnest en¬ 
treaties and pleadings, the old chief was buried that day 
before my eyes in the same grave with his four strangled 
wives! Oh, my heart groaned when I saw this! A week 
afterwards, the son, who was now chief of the tribe, came 
to me, bearing his god on his shoulders, and groaning 
beneath its weight. Flinging it down at my feet, he 
desired me to burn it! 

“ You may conceive how overjoyed I was at this* I 
sprang up and embraced him, while I shed tears of joy. 
Then we made a fire, and burned the god to ashes, amid 
an immense concourse of the people, who seemed terrified 
at what was being done, and shrank back when we burned 
the god, expecting some vengeance to be taken upon us; 
but seeing that nothing happened, they changed their 
minds, and thought that our God must be the true one 
after all. From that time the mission prospered steadily; 
and now, there is not a single man in the tribe who has not 
burned his gods and become a convert to Christianity.” 

“ Have the missionaries many stations in these seas? ” 
inquired Jack. 

“ Oh yes. But still, my friend, there are hundreds of 


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295 


islands here the natives of which have never heard of God, 
and thousands are living and dying in the practice of those 
terrible sins and bloody murders of which you have already 
heard. I trust, my friends,” he added, looking earnestly 
into our faces — “I trust that if you ever return to Eng¬ 
land, you will tell your Christian friends that the horrors 
which they hear of in regard to these islands are literally 
true , and that when they have heard the worst, the 
‘half has not been told them; for there are perpetrated 
here foul deeds of darkness of which man may not 
speak.” 

We assured our friend that we would certainly not 
forget his request. On returning towards the village, 
about noon, we remarked on the beautiful whiteness of 
the cottages. 

“ That is owing to the lime with which they are plas¬ 
tered,” said the teacher. “ When the natives were 
converted, as I have described, I set them to work to 
build cottages for themselves, and also this handsome 
church which you see. When the framework and other 
parts of the house were up, I sent the people to fetch coral 
from the sea. They brought immense quantities. Then 
I made them cut wood, and piling the coral above it, set 
it on fire. 

“ ‘ Look! look! ’ cried the poor people in amazement, 
‘ what wonderful people the Christians are! He is roast¬ 
ing stones. We shall not need taro or bread-fruit any 
more; we may eat stones! ’ 

“ But their surprise was still greater when the coral 
was reduced to a fine, soft white powder. They imme- 


296 


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diately set up a great shout, and mingling the lime with 
water, rubbed their faces and their bodies all over with 
it, and ran through the village screaming with delight. 
They were also much surprised at another thing they 
saw me do. I wished to make some household furniture, 
and constructed a turning-lathe to assist me. The first 
thing that I turned was the leg of a sofa; which was no 
sooner finished than the chief seized it with wonder and 
delight, and ran through the village exhibiting it to the 
people, who looked upon it with great admiration. The 
chief then, tying a string to it, hung it round his neck as 
an ornament! ” 

As the teacher concluded this anecdote we reached his 
door. Saying that he had business to attend to, he left 
us to amuse ourselves as we best could. 

“ Now, lads,” said Jack, turning abruptly towards us, 
and buttoning up his jacket as he spoke, “I’m off to see 
the battle. I’ve no particular fondness for seem’ blood¬ 
shed, but I must find out the nature o’ these fellows and 
see their customs with my own eyes, so that I may be 
able to speak of it again, if need be, authoritatively. It’s 
only six miles off, and we don’t run much more risk than 
that of getting a rap with a stray stone or an overshot 
arrow. Will you go? ” 

“ To be sure we will,” said Peterkin. 

“ If they chance to see us we’ll cut and run for it,” added 
Jack. 

“Dear me!” cried Peterkin —“you run! I thought 
you would scorn to run from any one.” 

“ So I would, if it were my duty to fight,” returned 


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297 


Jack coolly; “ but as I don’t want to fight, and don’t 
intend to fight, if they offer to attack us I’ll run away 
like the veriest coward that ever went by the name of 
Peterkin. So come along.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


A strange and bloody battle — Scenes of cruelty — An un¬ 
expected discovery — Plans of escape. 

W E had ascertained from the teacher the direction to 
the spot on which the battle was to be fought, and 
after a walk of two hours, reached it. The summit of a 
bare hill was the place chosen; for, unlike most of the 
other islanders who are addicted to bush fighting, those 
of Mango are in the habit of meeting on open ground. 
We arrived before the two parties had commenced the 
deadly struggle, and, creeping as close up as we dared 
among the rocks, we lay and watched them. 

The combatants were drawn up face to face, each side 
ranged in rank four deep. Those in the first row were 
armed with long spears; the second with clubs to defend 
the spearmen; the third row was composed of young men 
with slings; and the fourth consisted of women, who 
carried baskets of stones for the slingers, and clubs and 
spears with which to supply the warriors. Soon after we 
arrived the attack was made with great fury. There was 
no science displayed. The two bodies of savages rushed 
headlong upon each other and engaged in a general melee , 
and a more dreadful set of men I have never seen. They 
wore grotesque war-caps made of various substances and 
decorated with feathers. Their faces and bodies were 


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299 


painted so as to make them look as frightful as possible; 
and as they brandished their massive clubs, leaped, 
shouted, yelled, and dashed each other to the ground, 
I thought I had never seen men look so like demons 
before. 

We were much surprised at the conduct of the women, 
who seemed to be perfect furies, and hung about the heels 
of their husbands in order to defend them. One stout 
young woman we saw whose husband was hard pressed 
and about to be overcome, she lifted a large stone, and 
throwing it at his opponent’s head, felled him to the 
earth. But the battle did not last long. The band 
most distant from us gave way and were routed, leaving 
eighteen of their comrades dead upon the field. These 
the victors brained as they lay; and, putting some of 
their brains on leaves, went off with them, we were after¬ 
wards informed, to their temples to present them to their 
gods as an earnest of the human victims who were soon 
to be brought there. 

We hastened back to the Christian village with feelings 
of the deepest sadness at the sanguinary conflict which 
we had just witnessed. 

Next day, after breakfasting with our friend the teacher, 
we made preparations for carrying out our plan. At first 
the teacher endeavoured to dissuade us. 

“ You do not know,” said he, turning to Jack, “ the 
danger you run in venturing amongst these ferocious 
savages. I feel much pity for poor Avatea; but you are 
not likely to succeed in saving her, and you may die in 
the attempt.” 


300 


Coral Island 


“ Well,” said Jack quietly, “ I am not afraid to die in 
a good cause.” 

The teacher smiled approvingly at him as he said this, 
and, after a little further conversation, agreed to accom¬ 
pany us as interpreter; saying that, although Tararo was 
unfriendly to him, he had hitherto treated him with 
respect. 

We now went on board the schooner, having resolved 
to sail round the island and drop anchor opposite the 
heathen village. We manned her With natives, and hoped 
to overawe the savages by displaying our brass gun to 
advantage. The teacher soon after came on board, and, 
setting our sails, we put to sea. In two hours more we 
made the cliffs reverberate with the crash of the big gun, 
which we fired by way of salute, while we ran the British 
ensign up to the peak and cast anchor. The commotion 
on shore showed us that we had struck terror into the 
hearts of the natives; but, seeing that we did not offer 
to molest them, a canoe at length put off and paddled 
cautiously towards us. The teacher showed himself, and, 
explaining that we were friends and wished to palaver 
with the chief, desired the native to go and tell him to 
come on board. 

A canoe put off from shore and several savages leaped 
on deck, one of whom advanced to the teacher and in¬ 
formed him that Tararo could not come on board that 
day, being busy with some religious ceremonies before thfe 
gods, which could on no account be postponed. He was 
also engaged with a friendly chief who was about to take 
his departure from the island, and therefore begged that 


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301 


the teacher and his friends would land and pay a visit to 
him. To this the teacher returned answer that we would 
land immediately. 

“ Now, lads,” said Jack, as we were about to step into 
our little boat, “ I’m not going to take any weapons with 
me, and I recommend you to take none either. We are 
altogether in the power of these savages, and the utmost 
we could do, if they were to attack us, would be to kill 
a few of them before we were ourselves overpowered. I 
think that our only chance of success lies in mild measures; 
don’t you think so? ” 

To this I assented gladly, and Peterkin replied by laying 
down a huge bell-mouthed blunderbuss, and divesting 
himself of a pair of enormous horse-pistols with which he 
had purposed to overawe the natives! We then jumped 
into our boat and rowed ashore. 

On reaching the beach we were received by a crowd of 
naked savages, who shouted a rude welcome, and con¬ 
ducted us to a house or shed where a baked pig and a 
variety of vegetables were prepared for us. Having par¬ 
taken of these, the teacher begged to be conducted to the 
chief; but there seemed some hesitation, and after some 
consultation among themselves one of the men stood for¬ 
ward and spoke to the teacher. 

“ What says he? ” inquired Jack when the savage had 
concluded. 

“ He says that the chief is just going to the temple of 
his god and cannot see us yet; so we must be patient, my 
friend.” 

“ Well,” cried Jack, rising, “if he won’t come to see 


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me, I’ll go and see him. Will you go with me, friend? ” 

“ I cannot,” said the teacher, shading his head. 

“ Very good,” returned Jack; “ then I’ll go alone, for I 
cannot condemn their doings till I have seen them.” 

Jack arose, and we, having determined to go also, fol¬ 
lowed him through the banana groves to a rising ground 
immediately behind the village, on the top of which stood 
the Bure, or temple, under the dark shade of a group of 
iron-wood trees. 

As we turned into a broad path leading towards the 
hill, we were arrested by the shouts of an approaching 
multitude in the rear. Drawing aside into the bushes, we 
awaited their coming up, and as they drew near we ob¬ 
served that it was a procession of the natives, many of 
whom were dancing in the most frantic manner. They 
had an exceedingly hideous aspect, owing to the black, 
red, and yellow paints with which their faces and naked 
bodies were bedaubed. In the midst of these came a 
band of men carrying three or four planks, on which 
were seated in rows upwards of a dozen men. I shuddered 
involuntarily as I recollected the sacrifice of human victims 
at the island of Emo, and turned with a look of fear to 
Jack as I said — 

“ O Jack! I have a terrible dread that they are going 
to commit some of their cruel practices on these wretched 
men. We had better not go to the temple. We shall 
only be horrified without being able to do any good, for I 
fear they are going to kill them.” 

Jack’s face wore an expression of deep compassion as he 


Coral Island 


303 


said in a low voice, “ No fear, Ralph; the sufferings of 
these poor fellows are over long ago.” 

I turned with a start as he spoke, and glancing at the 
men, who were now quite near to the spot where we stood, 
saw that they were all dead. They were tied firmly with 
ropes in a sitting posture on the planks, and seemed, as 
they bent their sightless eyeballs and grinning mouths 
over the dancing crew below, as if they were laughing in 
ghastly mockery at the utter inability of their enemies to 
hurt them now. These, we discovered afterwards, were 
the men who had been slain in the battle of the previous 
day, and were now on their way to be first presented to the 
gods and then eaten. Behind these came two men leading 
between them a third, whose hands were pinioned behind 
his back. He walked with a firm step, and wore a look 
of utter indifference on his face as they led him along; so 
that we concluded he must be a criminal who was about 
to receive some punishment for his faults. The rear of 
the procession was brought up by a shouting crowd of 
women and children, with whom we mingled and followed 
to the temple. 

Here we arrived in a few minutes. The temple was a 
tall circular building, open at one side. Around it were 
strewn heaps of human bones and skulls. At a table 
inside sat the priest, an elderly man with a long grey 
beard. He was seated on a stool, and before him lay 
several knives, made of wood, bone, and splinters of 
bamboo, with which he performed his office of dissecting 
dead bodies. Farther in lay a variety of articles that had 
been dedicated to the god, and among them were many 


304 


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spears and clubs. I observed among the latter some with 
human teeth sticking in them, where the victims had been 
clubbed in their mouths. 

Before this temple the bodies, which were painted with 
vermilion and soot, were arranged in a sitting posture; 
and a man called a “ dan-vosa ” (orator), advanced, and 
laying his hands on their heads, began to chide them, ap¬ 
parently in a low, bantering tone. What he said we knew 
not, but as he went on he waxed warm, and at last shouted 
to them at the top of his lungs, and finally finished by 
kicking the bodies over and running away, amid the shouts 
and laughter of the people, who now rushed forward. 
Seizing the bodies by a leg or an arm, or by the hair of 
the head, they dragged them over stumps and stones and 
through sloughs until they were exhausted. The bodies 
were then brought back to the temple and dissected by 
the priest, after which they were taken out to be baked. 

Close to the temple a large fire was kindled, in which 
stones were heated red hot. When ready these were 
spread out on the ground, and a thick coating of leaves 
strewn over them to slack the heat. On this “ lovo,” or 
oven, the bodies were then placed, covered over, and left 
to bake. 

The crowd now ran with terrible yells towards a neigh¬ 
bouring hill or mound, on which we observed the frame¬ 
work of a house lying ready to be erected. Sick with 
horror, yet fascinated by curiosity, we staggered after 
them mechanically, scarce knowing where we were going 
or what we did, and feeling a sort of impression that all 
we saw was a dreadful dream. 


Coral Island 


305 


Arrived at the place, we saw the multitude crowding 
round a certain spot. We pressed forward and obtained 
a sight of what they were doing. A large wooden beam 
or post lay on the ground, beside the other parts of the 
framework of the house, and close to the end of it was a 
hole about seven feet deep and upwards of two feet wide. 
While we looked, the man whom we had before observed 
with his hands pinioned was carried into the circle. His 
hands were now free, but his legs were tightly strapped 
together. The post of the house was then placed in the 
hole, and the man put in beside it. His head was a good 
way below the surface of the hole, and his arms were 
clasped round the post. Earth was now thrown in until 
all was covered over and stamped down; and this, we 
were afterwards told, was a ceremony usually performed at 
the dedication of a new temple or the erection of a chief’s 
house! 

“ Come, come,” cried Jack, on beholding this horrible 
tragedy; “ we have seen enough, enough — far more than 
enough! Let us go.” 

Jack’s face looked ghastly pale and haggard as we 
hurried back to rejoin the teacher, and I have no doubt 
that he felt terrible anxiety when he considered the 
number and ferocity of the savages, and the weakness 
of the few arms which were ready indeed to essay, 
but impotent to effect, Avatea’s deliverance from these 
men. 

When we returned to the shore and related to our 
friend what had passed, he was greatly distressed, and 
groaned in spirit; but we had not sat long in conversation, 


306 


Coral Island 


when we were interrupted by the arrival of Tararo on the 
beach, accompanied by a number of followers bearing 
baskets of vegetables and fruits on their heads. 

We advanced to meet him, and he expressed, through 
our interpreter, much pleasure in seeing us. 

“ And what is it that my friends wish to say to me? ” 
he inquired. 

The teacher explained that we came to beg that Avatea 
might be spared. 

“ Tell him,” said Jack, “ that I consider that I have a 
right to ask this of him, having not only saved the girl’s 
life, but the lives of his own people also; and say that I 
wish her to be allowed to follow her own wishes, and join 
the Christians.” 

While this was being translated, the chief’s brow 
lowered, and we could see plainly that our request met 
with no favourable reception. He replied with consider¬ 
able energy, and at some length. 

“ What says he? ” inquired Jack. 

“ I regret to say that he will not listen to the proposal. 
He says he has pledged his word to his friend that the 
girl shall be sent to him, and a deputy is even now on 
this island awaiting the fulfilment of the pledge.” 

Jack bit his lip in suppressed anger. “ Tell Tararo,” 
he exclaimed with a flashing eye, “ that if he does not 
grant my demand it will be worse for him. Say I have 
a big gun on board my schooner that will blow his village 
into the sea, if he does not give up the girl.” 

|f “ Nay, my friend,” said the teacher gently, “ I will not 
tell him that.” 


Coral Island 307 

“ What does my friend say? ” inquired the chief, who 
seemed nettled by Jack’s looks of defiance. 

“He is displeased,” replied the teacher. 

Tararo turned away with a smile of contempt, and 
walked towards the men who carried the baskets of vege¬ 
tables, and who had now emptied the whole on the beach 
in an enormous pile. 

“ What are they doing there? ” I inquired. 

“ I think that they are laying out a gift which they 
intend to present to some one,” said the teacher. 

At this moment a couple of men appeared, leading a 
young girl between them, and, going towards the heap of 
fruits and vegetables, placed her on top of it. We started 
with surprise and fear, for in the young female before us 
we recognised the Samoan girl Avatea. 

We stood rooted to the earth with surprise and thick¬ 
coming fears. 

“ Oh my dear young friend,” whispered the teacher in a 
voice of deep emotion, while he seized Jack by the arm, 
“ she is to be made a sacrifice even now! ” 

“ Is she? ” cried Jack with a vehement shout, spurning 
the teacher aside, and dashing over two natives who stood 
in his way, while he rushed towards the heap, sprang 
up its side, and seized Avatea by the arm. In another 
moment he dragged her down, placed her back to a large 
tree, and, wrenching a war-club from the hand of a native 
who seemed powerless and petrified with surprise, whirled 
it above his head, and yelled, rather than shouted, while 
his face blazed with fury, “ Come on, the whole nation of 
you.” 


308 


Coral Island 


It seemed as though the challenge had been literally 
accepted; for every savage on the ground ran precipitately 
at Jack with club and spear, and doubtless would speedily 
have poured out his brave blood on the sod, had not the 
teacher rushed in between them, and, raising his voice to 
its utmost, cried — 

“ Stay your hands, warriors! It is not your part to 
judge in this matter. It is for Tararo, the chief, to say 
whether or not the young man shall live or die.” 

The natives were arrested; and I know not whether it 
was the gratifying acknowledgment of his superiority thus 
made by the teacher, or some lingering feeling of grati¬ 
tude for Jack’s former aid in time of need, that influenced 
Tararo, but he stepped forward, and, waving his hand, 
said to his people, “ The young man’s life is mine.” 
Then, turning to Jack, he said, “ You have forfeited your 
liberty and life to me. Submit yourself, for we are more 
numerous than the sand upon the shore. You are but 
one; why should you die? ” 

“Villain!” exclaimed Jack passionately, “I may die, 
but assuredly I shall not perish alone. I will not submit 
until you promise that this girl shall not be injured.” 

“ You are very bold,” replied the chief haughtily, “ but 
very foolish. Yet I will say that Avatea shall not be 
sent away — at least, for three days.” 

“You had better accept these terms,” whispered the 
teacher entreatingly. “ If you persist in this mad de¬ 
fiance, you will be slain, and Avatea will be lost. Three 
days are worth having.” 

Jack hesitated a moment, then lowered his club, and 


Coral Island 


309 


throwing it moodily to the ground, crossed his arms on 
his breast and hung down his head in silence. 

Tararo seemed pleased by his submission, and told the 
teacher to say that he did not forget his former services, 
and therefore would leave him free as to his person, but 
that the schooner would be detained till he had further 
considered the matter. 

While the teacher translated this, he approached as 
near to where Avatea was standing as possible, without 
creating suspicion, and whispered to her a few words in 
the native language. Avatea, who during the whole of 
the foregoing scene had stood leaning against the tree 
perfectly passive, and seemingly quite uninterested in 
all that was going on, replied by a single rapid glance of 
her dark eye, which was instantly cast down again on the 
ground at her feet. 

Tararo now advanced, and taking the girl by the hand, 
led her unresistingly away; while Jack, Peterkin, and I 
returned with the teacher on board the schooner. 

On reaching the deck, we went down to the cabin, 
where Jack threw himself, in a state of great dejection, 
on a couch; but the teacher seated himself by his side, 
and laying his hand upon his shoulder, said — 

“ Patience, my friend; I will tell you my plans if you 
will listen.” 

“ Listen! ” cried Jack eagerly: “ of course I will, my 
good fellow; I did not know you had any plans. Out with 
them.” 

The teacher smiled sadly. “ Ah, my friend! if one 
fathom of your anchor chain were to rattle as you drew it 


310 


Coral Island 


in, a thousand warriors would be standing on your deck. 
No, no, that could not be done. Even now your ship 
would be taken from you were it not that Tararo has 
some feeling of gratitude towards you. But I know 
Tararo well. He is a man of falsehood. The chief to 
whom he has promised this girl is very powerful, and 
Tararo must fulfil his promise. He has told you that he 
would do nothing to the girl for three days, but that is 
because the party who are to take her away will not be 
ready to start for three days. Still, he might have made 
you a prisoner during those three days.” 

“ Well, but what do you propose to do? ” said Jack 
impatiently. 

“ My plan involves much danger, but I see no other, 
and I think you have courage to brave it. It is this. 
There is an island about fifty miles to the south of this, 
the natives of which are Christians, and have been so for 
two years or more, and the principal chief is Avatea’s 
lover. Once there, Avatea would be safe. Now, I sug¬ 
gest that you should abandon your schooner. Do you 
think that you can make so great a sacrifice? ” 

“ Friend,” replied Jack, “ when I make up my mind to 
go through with a thing of importance, I can make any 
sacrifice.” 

The teacher smiled. “ Well, then, the savages could 
not conceive it possible that for the sake of a girl you 
would lose your fine vessel; therefore as long as she lies 
here they think they have you all safe: so I suggest that 
we get a quantity of stores conveyed to a sequestered part 
of the shore, provide a small canoe, put Avatea on 


Coral Island 


311 


board, and you three would paddle to the Christian 
island.” 

“ Bravo! ” cried Peter kin, springing up and seizing the 
teacher’s hand. “ You’re a regular brick.” 

“ As for me,” continued the teacher, “ I will remain on 
board till they discover that you are gone. Then they will 
ask me where you are gone to, and I will refuse to tell.” 

“ What’ll be the result of that? ” I asked. 

“ And how are we to get hold of Avatea? ’’inquired Jack. 

“ I have arranged with her to meet us at a spot, to which 
I will guide you to-night. We shall then arrange about it. 
She will easily manage to elude her keepers, who are not 
very strict in watching her, thinking it impossible that 
she could escape from the island. I am sure that such an 
idea will never enter their heads. But, as I have said, 
you run great danger. Fifty miles in a small canoe, on 
the open sea, is a great voyage to make. You may miss 
the island, too, in which case there is no other in that 
direction for a hundred miles or more; and if you lose 
your way and fall among other heathens, you know the 
law of Feejee — a castaway who gains the shore is doomed 
to die. You must count the cost, my young friend.” 

“ I have counted it,” replied Jack. “ If Avatea con¬ 
sents to run the risk, most certainly I will; and so will 
my comrades also.” 

We now set about active preparations for the intended 
voyage; collected together such things as we should re¬ 
quire, and laid out on the deck provisions sufficient to 
maintain us for several weeks, purposing to load the canoe 
with as much as she could hold consistently with speed 


312 


Coral Island 


and safety. These we covered with a tarpaulin, intend¬ 
ing to convey them to the canoe only a few hours before 
starting. When night spread her curtain over the scene, 
we rowed quietly to the shore and followed our guide, 
who led us by a long detour, in order to avoid the village, 
to the place of rendezvous. We had not stood more than 
five minutes under the gloomy shade of the thick foliage 
when a dark figure glided noiselessly up to us. 

“ Ah! here you are,” said Jack, as Avatea approached 
— “ Now, then, tell her what we’ve come about, and 
don’t waste time.” 

44 I understan’ leetl English,” said Avatea in a low 
voice. 

44 Why, where did you pick up English? ” exclaimed 
Jack in amazement; 44 you were dumb when I saw you 
last.” 

44 She has learned all she knows of it from me,” said the 
teacher, 44 since she came to the island.” 

We now gave Avatea a full explanation of our plans, 
concealing none of the danger, so that she might be fully 
aware of the risk she ran. As we had anticipated, she 
was too glad of the opportunity to escape from her perse¬ 
cutors to think of the danger or risk. 

44 Then you’re willing to go with us, are you? ” said 
Jack. 

44 Yis, I go.” 

“ And you’re not afraid to trust yourself out on the sea 
so far? ” 

44 No, I not ’fraid to go.” 

After some further consultation, the teacher suggested 


Coral Island 


313 


that it was time to return, so we bade Avatea good-night, 
and having appointed to meet at the cliff where the canoe 
lay on the following night, just after dark, we hastened 
away — we to row on board the schooner with muffled 
oars, Avatea to glide back to her prison-hut among the 
Mango savages. 


CHAPTERfXX 

The flight — Awful danger threatened — A terrific storm. 

A S the time for our meditated flight drew near, we 
became naturally very fearful lest our purpose should 
be discovered, and spent the whole of the following day 
in a state of nervous anxiety. We resolved to go ashore 
and ramble about the village, as if to observe the habits 
and dwellings of the people, as we thought that an air of 
indifference would be more likely to avert suspicion. 

At last the tedious day came to a close, the sun sank 
into the sea, and the short-lived twilight of those regions, 
to which I have already referred, ended abruptly in a 
dark night. Hastily throwing a few blankets into our 
little boat, we stepped into it, and rowed gently over the 
lagoon, taking care to keep as near to the beach as pos¬ 
sible. We rowed in the utmost silence, and with muffled 
oars, so that had any one observed us at the distance of a 
few yards, he might have almost taken us for a phantom- 
boat, or a shadow on the dark water. Not a breath of air 
was stirring; but, fortunately, the gentle ripple of the sea 
upon the shore, mingled with the soft roar of the breaker 
onUhe distant reef, effectually drowned the slight plash 
that we unavoidably made in the water by the dipping of 
our oars. 

A quarter of an hour sufficed to bring us to the over- 


Coral Island 


315 


hanging cliff under whose black shadow our little canoe 
lay, with her bow in the water ready to be launched, and 
most of her cargo already stowed away. As the keel of 
our little boat grated on the sand, a hand was laid upon 
the bow, and a dim form was seen. 

“ Ha! ” said Peterkin in a whisper, as he stepped upon 
the beach, “ is that you, Avatea? ” 

“ Yis, it am me,” was the reply. 

“ All right! Now, then, gently. Help me to shove off 
the canoe,” whispered Jack; “ Peterkin, do you shove 
these blankets aboard — we may want them before long. 
Avatea, step into the middle — that’s right.” 

“ Is all ready? ” whispered the teacher. 

“ Not quite,” replied Peterkin. — “ Here, Ralph, lay 
hold o’ this pair of oars, and stow them away if you can. 
I don’t like paddles. After we’re safe away I’ll try to rig 
up rollicks for them.” 

“ Now, then, in with you and shove off.” 

All that night and the whole of the following day we 
plied our paddles in almost total silence and without a 
halt, save twice to recruit our failing energies with a 
mouthful of food and a draught of water. Jack had taken 
the bearing of the island just after starting, and, laying a 
small pocket-compass before him, kept the head of the 
canoe due south, for our chance of hitting the island de¬ 
pended very much on the faithfulness of our steersman in 
keeping our tiny bark exactly and constantly on its proper 
course. Peterkin and I paddled in the bow, and Avatea 
worked untiringly in the middle. 

As the sun’s lower limb dipped on the gilded edge of 


316 Coral Island 

the sea, Jack ceased working, threw down his paddle, and 
called a halt. 

“ There! ” he cried, heaving a deep, long-drawn sigh, 
“ we’ve put a considerable breadth of water between us 
and these black rascals, so now we’ll have a hearty supper 
and a sound sleep.” 

“ Hear, hear! ” cried Peterkin. “ Nobly spoken, Jack. 

— Hand me a drop of water, Ralph. — Why, girl, what’s 
wrong with you? You look just like a black owl blinking 
in the sunshine.” 

Avatea smiled. “ I sleepy,” she said; and as if to prove 
the truth of this, she laid her head on the edge of the 
canoe and fell fast asleep. 

“ That’s uncommon sharp practice,” said Peterkin with 
a broad grin. “ Don’t you think we should awake her to 
make her eat something first? Or perhaps,” he added, 

— “ perhaps we might put some food in her mouth, which 
is so elegantly open at the present moment, and see if 
she’d swallow it while asleep. If so, Ralph, you might 
come round to the front here and feed her quietly, while 
Jack and I are tucking into the victuals. It would be a 
monstrous economy of time.” 

I could not help smiling at Peterkin’s idea, which in¬ 
deed, when I pondered it, seemed remarkably good in 
theory; nevertheless I declined to put it in practice, being 
fearful of the result should the victual chance to go down 
the wrong throat. But on suggesting this to Peterkin, 
he exclaimed — 

“ Down the wrong throat, man! why, a fellow with half 
an eye might see that if it went down Avatea’s throat it 


Coral Island 


317 


could not go down the wrong throat! — unless, indeed, you 
have all of a sudden become selfish, and think that all the 
throats in the world are wrong ones except your own. 
Don’t talk so much, and hand me the pork before Jack 
finishes it.” 

“ Peterkin, you’re a villain,” said Jack quietly, as he 
tossed the hind-legs (including the tail) of a cold roast 
pig to his comrade; “ and I must again express my regret 
that unavoidable circumstances have thrust your society 
upon me, and that necessity has compelled me to cultivate 
your acquaintance.” 

“There! you’ve awakened Avatea with your long 
tongue,” retorted Peterkin with a frown, as the girl gave 
a deep sigh. “ No,” he continued, “ it was only a snore. 
Perchance she dreameth of her black Apollo. — I say, 
Ralph, do leave just one little slice of that yam. Be¬ 
tween you and Jack I run a chance of being put on short 
allowance, if not — yei — a — a — ow! ” 

Peterkin’s concluding remark was a yawn of so great 
energy that Jack recommended him to postpone the con¬ 
clusion of his meal till next morning — a piece of advice 
which he followed so quickly that I was forcibly reminded 
of his remark, a few minutes before, in regard to the sharp 
practice of Avatea. 

Thus we lay like a shadow on the still bosom of the 
ocean, while the night closed in, and all around was calm, 
dark, and silent. 

A thrilling cry of alarm from Peterkin startled us in the 
morning, just as the grey dawn began to glimmer in the 
east. 


318 


Coral Island 


“ What’s wrong? ” cried Jack, starting up. 

Peterkin replied by pointing with a look of anxious 
dread towards the horizon; and a glance sufficed to show 
us that one of the largest-sized war-canoes was approach¬ 
ing us! 

With a groan of mingled despair and anger Jack seized 
his paddle, glanced at the compass, and in a suppressed 
voice commanded us to “ give way.” But we did not re¬ 
quire to be urged. Already our four paddles were glancing 
in the water, and the canoe bounded over the glassy sea 
like a dolphin, while a shout from our pursuers told that 
they had observed our motions. 

“ I see something like land ahead,” said Jack in a 
hopeful tone. “ It seems impossible that we could have 
made the island yet; still, if it is so, we may reach it 
before these fellows can catch us, for our canoe is light 
and our muscles are fresh.” 

No one replied; for, to say truth, we felt that in a long 
chase we had no chance whatever with a canoe which held 
nearly a hundred warriors. Nevertheless, we resolved to 
do our utmost to escape, and paddled with a degree of 
vigour that kept us well in advance of our pursuers. The 
war-canoe was so far behind us that it seemed but a little 
speck on the sea, and the shouts, to which the crew occa¬ 
sionally gave vent, came faintly towards us on the morning 
breeze. We therefore hoped that we should be able to 
keep in advance for an hour or two, when we might per¬ 
haps reach the land ahead. But this hope was suddenly 
crushed by the supposed land not long after rising up into 
the sky, thus proving itself to be a fog-bank! 


Coral Island 


319 


A bitter feeling of disappointment filled each heart as 
we beheld this termination to our hopes. But we had 
little time to think of regret. Our danger was too great 
to permit of a moment’s relaxation from our exertions. 
No hope now animated our bosoms; but a feeling of 
despair, strange to say, lent us power to work, and nerved 
our arms with such energy that it was several hours ere 
the savages overtook us. When we saw that there was 
indeed no chance of escape, and that paddling any longer 
would only serve to exhaust our strength, without doing 
any good, we turned the side of our canoe towards the 
approaching enemy, and laid down our paddles. 

Silently, and with a look of bitter determination on 
his face, Jack lifted one of the light boat-oars that we had 
brought with us, and resting it on his shoulder, stood up 
in an attitude of bold defiance. Peterkin took the other 
oar and also stood up, but there was no anger visible on 
his countenance. When not sparkling with fun, it usually 
wore a mild, sad expression, which was deepened on the 
present occasion, as he glanced at Avatea, who sat with 
her face resting in her hands upon her knees. Without 
knowing very well what I intended to do, I also arose and 
grasped my paddle with both hands. 

On came the large canoe like a war-horse of the deep, 
with the foam curling from its sharp bow, and the spear¬ 
heads of the savages glancing in the beams of the rising 
sun. Perfect silence was maintained on both sides, and 
we could hear the hissing water, and see the frowning eyes 
of the warriors, as they came rushing on. When about 
twenty yards distant, five or six of the savages in the bow 


320 


Coral Island 


rose, and, laying aside their paddles, took up their spears. 
Jack and Peterkin raised their oars, while, with a feeling 
of madness whirling in my brain, I grasped my paddle 
and prepared for the onset. But before any of us could 
strike a blow, the sharp prow of the war-canoe struck us 
like a thunderbolt on the side, and hurled us into the sea! 

What occurred after this I cannot tell, for I was nearly 
drowned; but when I recovered from the state of insen¬ 
sibility into which I had been thrown, I found myself 
stretched on my back, bound hand and foot between Jack 
and Peterkin, in the bottom of the large canoe. 

In this condition we lay the whole day, during which 
time the savages only rested one hour. When night came, 
they rested again for another hour, and appeared to sleep 
just as they sat. But we were neither unbound nor 
allowed to speak to each other during the voyage, nor was 
a morsel of food or a draught of water given to us. For 
food, however, we cared little; but we would have given 
much for a drop of water to cool our parched lips, and we 
would have been glad, too, had they loosened the cords 
that bound us, for they were tightly fastened and occa¬ 
sioned us much pain. The air, also, was unusually hot, so 
much so that I felt convinced that a storm was brewing. 
This also added to our sufferings. However, these were 
at length relieved by our arrival at the island from which 
we had fled. 

While we were being led ashore, we caught a glimpse of 
Avatea, who was seated in the hinder part of the canoe. 
She was not fettered in any way. Our captors now drove 
us before them towards the hut of Tararo, at which we 


Coral Island 


321 


speedily arrived, and found the chief seated with an ex¬ 
pression on his face that boded us no good. Our friend 
the teacher stood beside him. 

“ How comes it,” said Tararo, turning to the teacher, 
“ that these youths have abused our hospitality? ” 

“ Tell him,” replied Jack, “ that we have not abused his 
hospitality, for his hospitality has not been extended to 
us. I came to the island to deliver Avatea, and my only 
regret is that I have failed to do so. If I get another 
chance, I will try to save her yet.” 

The teacher shook his head. “ Nay, my young friend, 
I had better not tell him that.” 

“ I care not,” replied Jack. “ If you don’t tell him that, 
you’ll tell him nothing, for I won’t say anything softer.” 

On hearing Jack’s speech, Tararo frowned and his eye 
flashed with anger. 

“ Go,” he said, “ my debt to you is cancelled. “ You 
and your companions shall die.” 

As he spoke he rose and signed to several of his atten¬ 
dants, who seized Jack and Peterkin and me violently by 
the collars, and dragging us from the hut of the chief, 
led us through the wood to the outskirts of the village. 
Here they thrust us into a species of natural cave in a 
cliff, and having barricaded the entrance, left us in total 
darkness. 

After feeling about for some time — for our legs were 
unshackled, although our wrists were still bound with 
•thongs — we found a low ledge of rock running along one 
side of the cavern. On this we seated ourselves, and for 
a long time maintained silence. 


322 


Coral Island 


At last I could restrain my feelings no longer. “ Alas! ” 
said I, “ what is to become of us? I fear that we are 
doomed to die.” 

“ I know not,” replied Jack in a tremulous voice, “ I 
know not. Ralph, I regret my violent temper, which, I 
must confess, has been the chief cause of our being brought 
to this condition. Perhaps the teacher may do something 
for us. But I have little hope.” 

“Ah no!” said Peterkin with a heavy sigh, “I am 
sure he can’t help us. Tararo doesn’t care more for him 
than for one of his dogs.” 

“ Truly,” said I, “ there seems no chance of deliverance, 
Yet I must say that I have great hope, my comrades; for 
we have come to this dark place by no fault of 
ours.” 

I was interrupted in my remarks by a noise at the en¬ 
trance to the cavern, which was caused by the removal 
of the barricade. Immediately after, three men entered, 
and taking us by the collars of our coats, led us away 
through the forest. As we advanced, we heard much 
shouting and beating of native drums in the village, and 
at first we thought our guards were conducting us to the 
hut of Tararo again. But in this we were mistaken. 
The beating of drums gradually increased, and soon after 
we observed a procession of the natives coming towards 
us. At the head of this procession we were placed, and 
then we all advanced together towards the temple where 
human victims were sacrificed! 

A thrill of horror ran through my heart as I recalled to 
mind the scenes that I had before witnessed at that spot. 


Coral Island 


323 


But deliverance came suddenly from a quarter whence 
we little expected it. During the whole of that day there 
had been an unusual degree of heat in the atmosphere, 
and the sky assumed that lurid aspect which portends a 
thunder-storm. Just as we were approaching the horrid 
temple, a growl of thunder burst overhead and heavy 
drops of rain began to fall. 

Those who have not witnessed gales and storms in 
tropical regions can form but a faint conception of the 
fearful hurricane that burst upon the island of Mango at 
this time. Before we reached the temple, the storm burst 
upon us with a deafening roar, and the natives, who knew 
too well the devastation that was to follow, fled right and 
left through the woods in order to save their property, 
leaving us alone in the midst of the howling storm. The 
trees around us bent before the blast like willows, 
and we were about to flee in order to seek shelter, 
when the teacher ran towards us with a knife in his 
hand. 

“ Thank the Lord,” he said, cutting our bonds, “ I am 
in time! Now, seek the shelter of the nearest rock.” 

This we did without a moment’s hesitation, for the 
whistling wind burst like thunder-claps among the trees 
and tearing them from their roots, hurled them with 
violence to the ground. Rain cut across the land in sheets, 
and lightning played like forked serpents in the air, 
while high above the roar of the hissing tempest 
the thunder crashed and burst and rolled in awful 
majesty. 

In the village the scene was absolutely appalling. Roofs 


324 


Coral Island 


were blown completely off the houses in many cases, and 
in others the houses themselves were levelled with the 
ground. In the midst of this the natives were darting to 
and fro, in some instances saving their goods, but in many 
others seeking to save themselves from the storm of de¬ 
struction that whirled around them. But terrific although 
the tempest was on land, it was still more tremendous on 
the mighty ocean. Billows sprang, as it were, from the 
great deep, and while their crests were absolutely scattered 
into white mist, they fell upon the beach with a crash that 
seemed to shake the solid land. Each successive wave 
swept higher and higher on the beach, until the ocean 
lashed its angry waters among the trees and bushes, and 
at length, in a sheet of white curdled foam, swept into the 
village and upset and carried off, or dashed into wreck, 
whole rows of the native dwellings! 

We found shelter in a cave that night and all the next 
day, during which time the storm raged in fury; but on 
the night following it abated somewhat, and in the morn¬ 
ing we went to the village to seek for food, being so 
famished with hunger that we lost all feeling of danger 
and all wish to escape in our desire to satisfy the cravings 
of nature. But no sooner had we obtained food than we 
began to wish that we had rather endeavoured to make 
our escape into the mountains. This we attempted to do 
soon afterwards; but the natives were now able to look 
after us, and on our showing a disposition to avoid obser¬ 
vation and make towards the mountains, we were seized 
by three warriors, who once more bound our wrists and 
thrust us into our former prison. 


Coral Island 


325 


It is true Jack made a vigorous resistance, and knocked 
down the first savage who seized him with a well-directed 
blow of his fist, but he was speedily overpowered by others. 
Thus we were again prisoners, with the prospect of tor¬ 
ture and a violent death before us. 


CHAPTER XXI 

Imprisonment — Unexpected freedom. 

F OR a long, long month we remained in our dark and 
dreary prison, during which dismal time we did not 
see the face of a human being, except that of the silent 
savage who brought us our daily food. 

There have been one or two seasons in my life during 
which I have felt as if the darkness of sorrow and desola¬ 
tion that crushed my inmost heart could never pass away 
until death should make me cease to feel. The present 
was such a season. 

During the first part of our confinement we felt a cold 
chill at our hearts every time we heard a footfall near the 
cave — dreading lest it should prove to be that of our 
executioner. But as time dragged heavily on, we ceased 
to feel this alarm, and began to experience such a deep, 
irrepressible longing for freedom, that we chafed and 
fretted in our confinement like tigers. Then a feeling of 
despair came over us, and we actually longed for the time 
when the savages would take us forth to die! But these 
changes took place very gradually, and were mingled 
sometimes with brighter thoughts; for there were times 
when we sat in that dark cavern on our ledge of rock and 
conversed almost pleasantly about the past, until we well- 
nigh forgot the dreary present. But we seldom ventured 
to touch upon the future. 


Coral Island 


327 


A few decayed leaves and boughs formed our bed, and 
a scanty supply of yams and taro, brought to us once a 
day, constituted our food. 

“ Well, Ralph, how have you slept? ” said Jack in a 
listless tone, on rising one morning from his couch. “ Were 
you much disturbed by the wind last night? ”■ 

“ No,” said I; “I dreamed of home all night, and I 
thought that my mother smiled upon me, and beckoned 
me to go to her; but I could not, for I was chained.” 

“ And I dreamed, too,” said Peterkin; “ but it was of 
our happy home on the Coral Island. I thought we were 
swimming in the Water Garden; then the savages gave 
a yell, and we were immediately in the cave at Spouting 
Cliff, which, somehow or other, changed into this gloomy 
cavern; and I awoke to find it true.” 

Peterkin’s tone was so much altered by the depressing 
influence of his long imprisonment that, had I not known 
it was he who spoke, I should scarcely have recognised it, 
so sad was it, and so unlike to the merry, cheerful voice 
we had been accustomed to hear. 

While I meditated thus, Peterkin again broke the 
silence of the cave by saying, in a melancholy tone, “ Oh, 
I wonder if we shall ever see our dear island more! ” 

His voice trembled, and covering his face with both 
hands, he bent down his head and wept. It was an 
unusual sight for me to see our once joyous companion 
in tears, and I felt a burning desire to comfort him; but 
alas! what could I say? 

Thus we sat for some time in deep silence. Soon after 
we heard footsteps at the entrance of the cave, and imme- 


328 


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diately our jailer entered. We were so much accustomed 
to his regular visits, however, that we paid little attention 
to him, expecting that he would set down our meagre 
fare, as usual, and depart. But to our surprise, instead of 
doing so, he advanced towards us with a knife in his hand, 
and, going up to Jack, he cut the thongs that bound his 
wrists, then he did the same to Peterkin and me! For 
fully five minutes we stood in speechless amazement, with 
our freed hands hanging idly by our sides. The first 
thought that rushed into my mind was that the time 
had come to put us to death; and although, as I have 
said before, we actually wished for death in the strength 
of our despair, now that we thought it drew really near, 
I felt all the natural love of life revive in my heart, mingled 
with a chill of horror at the suddenness of our call. 

But I was mistaken. After cutting our bonds, the 
savage pointed to the cave’s mouth, and we marched, 
almost mechanically, into the open air. Here, to our 
surprise, we found the teacher standing under a tree, 
with his hands clasped before him, and the tears trickling 
down his dark cheeks. On seeing Jack, who came out 
first, he sprang towards him, and, clasping him in his 
arms, exclaimed — 

“ Oh, my dear young friend, through the great goodness 
of God you are free! ” 

“ Free? ” cried Jack. 

“ Ay, free,” repeated the teacher, shaking us warmly by 
the hands again and again — “ free to go and come as you 
will. The Lord has unloosed the bonds of the captive, 
and set the prisoners free. A missionary has been sent to 


Coral Island 


329 


us, and Tararo has embraced the Christian religion! The 
people are even now burning their gods of wood! Come, 
my dear friends, and see the glorious sight.” 

We could scarcely credit our senses. So long had we 
been accustomed in our cavern to dream of deliverance, 
that we imagined for a moment this must surely be 
nothing more than another vivid dream. Our eyes and 
minds were dazzled, too, by the brilliant sunshine, which 
almost blinded us after our long confinement to the gloom 
of our prison, so that we felt giddy with the variety of 
conflicting emotions that filled our throbbing bosoms; 
but as we followed the footsteps of our sable friend, and 
beheld the bright foliage of the trees, and heard the 
cries of the paroquets, and smelt the rich perfume of the 
flowering shrubs, the truth, that we were really delivered 
from prison and from death, rushed with overwhelming 
power into our souls, and with one accord, while tears 
sprang to our eyes, we uttered a loud, long cheer of joy. 

It was replied to by a shout from a number of the 
natives who chanced to be near. Running towards us, 
they shook us by the hand with every demonstration of 
kindly feeling. They then fell behind, and forming 
a sort of procession, conducted us to the dwelling of 
Tararo. 

The scene that met our eyes here was one that I shall 
never forget. On a rude bench in front of his house sat 
the chief. A native stood on his left hand, who from his 
dress seemed to be a teacher. On his right stood an 
English gentleman, who I at once and rightly concluded 
was a missionary. He was tall, thin, and apparently past 


330 


Coral Island 


forty, with a bald forehead and thin grey hair. The 
expression of his countenance was the most winning I 
ever saw, and his clear grey eye beamed with a look that 
was frank, fearless, loving, and truthful. In front of the 
chief was an open space, in the centre of which lay a pile 
of wooden idols, ready to be set on fire; and around these 
were assembled thousands of natives, who had come to 
join in or to witness the unusual sight. A bright smile 
overspread the missionary’s face as he advanced 
quickly to meet us, and he shook us warmly by the 
hands. 

“ I am overjoyed to meet you, my dear young friends,” 
he said. “ My friend and your friend, the teacher, has 
told me your history.” 

We thanked the missionary most heartily, and asked 
him in some surprise how he had succeeded in turning the 
heart of Tararo in our favour. 

“ I will tell you that at a more convenient time,” he 
answered; “ meanwhile we must not forget the respect 
due to the chief. He waits to receive you.” 

In the conversation that immediately followed between 
us and Tararo, the latter said that the light of the Gospel 
of Jesus Christ had been sent to the island, and that to it 
we were indebted for our freedom. Moreover, he told us 
that we were at liberty to depart in our schooner when¬ 
ever we pleased, and that we should be supplied with as 
much provision as we required. He concluded by shaking 
hands with us warmly, and performing the ceremony of 
rubbing noses. 

This was indeed good news to us, and we could hardly 


Coral Island 


331 


find words to express our gratitude to the chief and to 
the missionary. 

“ And what of Avatea? ” inquired Jack. 

The missionary replied by pointing to a group of 
natives in the midst of whom the girl stood. Beside her 
was a tall, strapping fellow, whose air of superiority be¬ 
spoke him a chief of no ordinary kind. 

“ That youth is her lover. He came this very morning 
in his war-canoe to treat with Tararo for Avatea. He is 
to be married in a few days, and afterwards returns to his 
island home with his bride! ” 

“ That’s capital,” said Jack, as he stepped up to the 
savage and gave him a hearty shake of the hand. “ I 
wish you joy, my lad; and you too, Avatea.” 

As Jack spoke, Avatea’s lover took him by the hand 
and led him to the spot where Tararo and the missionary 
stood, surrounded by most of the chief men of the tribe. 
The girl herself followed, and stood on his left hand while 
her lover stood on his right, and, commanding silence, 
made the following speech, which was translated by the 
missionary: — 

“ Young friend, you have seen few years, but your 
head is old. Your heart also is large and very brave. 
I and Avatea are your debtors, and we wish, in the midst 
of this assembly, to acknowledge our debt, and to say 
that it is one which we can never repay. You have risked 
your life for one who was known to you only for a few 
days. But she was a woman in distress, and that was 
enough to secure to her the aid of a Christian man. We 
thank God that so many Christians have been sent here; 


332 


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we hope many more will come. Remember that I and 
Avatea will think of you and pray for you and your brave 
comrades when you are far away.” 

To this kind speech Jack returned a short, sailor-like 
reply, in which he insisted that he had only done for 
Avatea what he would have done for any woman under 
the sun. But Jack’s forte did not lie in speech-making, 
so he terminated rather abruptly by seizing the chief’s 
hand and shaking it violently, after which he made a 
hasty retreat. 

“ Now then, Ralph and Peterkin,” said Jack, as we 
mingled with the crowd, “ it seems to me that the object 
we came here for having been satisfactorily accomplished, 
we have nothing more to do but get ready for sea as fast 
as we can, and hurrah for dear old England! ” 

“ That’s my idea precisely,” said Peterkin, endeavouring 
to wink; but he had wept so much of late, poor fellow, 
that he found it difficult. “ However, I’m not going away 
till I see these fellows burn their gods.” 

Peterkin had his wish, for in a few minutes afterwards 
fire was put to the pile, the roaring flames ascended, and 
amid the acclamations of the assembled thousands the 
false gods of Mango were reduced to ashes! 

The time soon drew near when we were to quit the 
islands of the South Seas; and strange though it may 
appear, we felt deep regret at parting with the natives 
of the island of Mango: for after they embraced the 
Christian faith, they sought, by showing us the utmost 
kindness, to compensate for the harsh treatment we had 
experienced at their hands; and we felt a growing affection 


Coral Island 


333 


for the native teachers and the missionary, and especially 
for Avatea and her husband. 

Before leaving we had many long and interesting con¬ 
versations with the missionary, in one of which he told us 
that he had been making for the island of Rarotonga, 
when his native-built sloop was blown out of its course, 
during a violent gale, and driven to this island. At first 
the natives refused to listen to what he had to say; but 
after a week’s residence among them, Tararo came to him 
and said that he wished to become a Christian, and would 
burn his idols. He proved himself to be sincere, for, as 
we have seen, he persuaded all his people to do likewise. 
I use the word “ persuaded ” advisedly; for, like all the 
other Feejee chiefs, Tararo was a despot, and might have 
commanded obedience to his wishes; but he entered so 
readily into the spirit of the new faith, that he perceived 
at once the impropriety of using constraint in the pro¬ 
pagation of it. He set the example, therefore; and 
that example was followed by almost every man of the 
tribe. 

After Avatea was married, she and her husband were 
sent away loaded with presents, chiefly of an edible 
nature. One of the native teachers went with them, for 
the purpose of visiting still more distant islands of the 
sea, and spreading, if possible, the light of the glorious 
Gospel there. 

As the missionary intended to remain for several weeks 
longer, in order to encourage and confirm his new con¬ 
verts, Jack and Peterkin and I held a consultation in the 
cabin of our schooner — which we found just as we had 


334 


Coral Island 


left her, for everything that had been taken out of her 
was restored. We now resolved to delay our departure 
no longer. The desire to see our beloved native land was 
strong upon us, and we could not wait. 

Three natives volunteered to go with us to Tahiti, 
where we thought it likely that we should be able to 
procure a sufficient crew of sailors to man our vessel, so 
we accepted their offer gladly. 

It was a bright, clear morning when we hoisted the 
snow-white sails of the pirate schooner and left the shores 
of Mango. The missionary and thousands of the natives 
came down to see us sail away. As the vessel bent before 
a light, fair wind, we glided quickly over the lagoon under 
a cloud of canvas. 

Just as we passed through the channel in the reef the 
natives gave us a loud cheer; and as the missionary waved 
his hat, while he stood on a coral rock with his grey hairs 
floating in the wind, we heard the single word “ Farewell ” 
borne faintly over the sea. 

That night, as we sat on the taffrail gazing out upon 
the wide sea and up into the starry firmament, a thrill 
of joy, strangely mixed with sadness, passed through our 
hearts; for we were at length “ homeward bound,” and 
were gradually leaving far behind us the beautiful, bright 
green coral islands of the Pacific Ocean. 


THE END 




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